What Happens to the Innocent Chlidren
by charmedgal005
Summary: Paige finally gets to be a social worker, what happens when one of the kids runs away? * FINISHED*
1. chapter 1

What Happens to the Innocent Children  
  
Disclaimer  
  
If I owned these Characters (aside from the ones you don't recognize) I probably wouldn't be writing these. If I owned these characters, you would probably see this story on the show. Hey! You know what? I am writing these and you don't see this story line on the show, therefore, I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS!!! So don't sue me!  
  
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The dark streets gave an eerie felling as the little girl ran through the streets. It was still light outside, but she felt so alone and scared that it felt dark to her. Normally dark streets don't scare her. She had lived on the streets before. But that was when she had known where she was going. But her new foster family lived in the suburbs, almost the hills. She didn't know where she was. It was getting cold, and she was hungry. She looked at her watch. It was almost five. It would be dark soon. The little girl wished that she hadn't left her foster family, but they didn't understand her there. They thought her a freak. She needed to be alone. Her gifts were sometimes dangerous. "Maybe I shoulda told Ms. Matthews about my gifts." She muttered to herself. The streets were empty now. There were no cars, and she saw no structures anywhere. But there was still a road, meaning there had to be more than nothing farther down. Taking a quick break on a rock, the girl sat down to catch her breath. She held her stuffed bear close to her. Sometimes if she closed her eyes and used her imagination, she could still smell her mother. A car drove up, just a football field away, from the girl. Glad that she was in the shade, and wearing black, she crouched behind the rock.  
  
"RACHEL?!?!?!" A voice called, as a car door opened. The girl recognized that voice; it was Mrs. Adam, her new foster mother. Panicked, she hid behind some trees. [I hope she doesn't catch me.] She silently prayed. The car door slammed shut, and the car drove off. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rachel began to run down the road. She often took paranoid glances over her shoulder for any approaching car. Darkness was fast approaching, and Rachel knew it. She knew that once it was dark, she needed to find a place to sleep. Exhausted, she made her way up the steep hill. Standing at the top, she looked out over the landscape. She could see parts of the city lights. She did a full three sixty. Something caught her eye on her left. It looked like a shed. Knowing that the road had not been traveled in a long time, she went towards it, hoping that it could be a place for her to stay. As she got closer, she noticed that the shed was not a shed after all, but a garage, with a large house right next to it. No lights were on in the house. Rachel went carefully up the porch steps, and peeked into the window. It looked like no one had lived there for many years. Slowly, Rachel opened the door.  
  
"Hello?" She called out. Her voice echoed throughout the empty house. Satisfied, she laid down, tired from her day's journey. She used the old stuffed bear as a pillow and instantly fell fast asleep. 


	2. chapter 2

"I can not believe it." Paige exclaimed. "My first case as a social worker and the girl runs away!"  
  
"It happens to the best of us." Her boss said. "We've got everyone looking for her. Rachel was used to life on the street, and a house probably was over her head."  
  
"She's eight. Eight."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I can't sit here, I'm going to help look for her." Paige said, grabbing her keys and jacket.  
  
"Where are you going to look?"  
  
"I dunno, where do eight year olds like to go?" Paige asked. Her boss shrugged her shoulders, but figured that he better not push it. Paige drove around for hours. Several times her boss called trying to get her back to the office, but each time she refused. At ten at night, after seven hours of driving, she gave up and drove home.  
  
"Paige, we heard." Phoebe greeted Paige at the door.  
  
"You did how?" She asked suspiciously.  
  
"Your boss called an hour ago, to see if you had given up looking yet."  
  
"I won't give up until I find her." She said stubbornly.  
  
"I know, but you're quitting for the night?" Phoebe asked hopefully.  
  
"For the night, but I want to be out there early tomorrow. Rachel is a fast mover. She stops early, but starts early too. I need to find her. The Adams are freaking out, they feel like it is their fault. Hell, I feel like it is my fault too."  
  
"But it's not, it was her choice."  
  
"I thought I had the right foster family, I chose the Adams for her, but she obviously didn't like them. And it is all my fault."  
  
"No, Paige it is not your fault."  
  
"I know, but I can't help feeling like it is."  
  
"It's ok."  
  
"Thanks. Would it be bending the rules if I use magic to look for her?" Paige innocently asked.  
  
"Yes, because this has nothing to do with magic, don't worry; I'm sure she is safe. Go, get some rest." Phoebe insisted. Paige looked slightly annoyed, but obliged, and headed to bed. 


	3. chapter 3

Rachel woke with a start. She hadn't realized how late it was. The sun brightly shone over her eyes. Blinking her eyes, she was shocked to see what she did. Right in front of her face was another face, a girl's face. Only this other face was transparent. Speechless, she looked scared at the transparent girl.  
  
"Oh good you're up." The girl said, moving her self back.  
  
Startled, Rachel scrambled to her feet, grabbing her stuffed bear with her. "What are you?" She dared to ask.  
  
"I am Kirsten."  
  
"Rachel, but I didn't ask who you are, I asked what are you."  
  
"A ghost, you can see me?"  
  
"Yeah, should I not?" Just like the road last night, this was un- familiar territory for Rachel.  
  
"Only witches can see ghosts, meaning you're a witch."  
  
"I knew that. How do you know that?"  
  
"My parents were witches."  
  
"My mum was, but she died."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Some demon, I was little but I can still see his face at night." Rachel started to cry, it was painful. It wasn't just at night that she saw that face, it was every time she closed her eyes, every time she used her powers.  
  
"That is how my family and I died too."  
  
"How long ago?"  
  
"About fifteen years. My parents were able to crossover, but I some reason some how couldn't. How old are you?"  
  
"Eight. How about you?"  
  
"Sixteen when I died."  
  
"Wow!"  
  
"What are you doing way out here?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"I ran away." Rachel mumbled.  
  
"Why would you do that? Your Dad must miss you."  
  
"I don't have one. My foster family doesn't like me. Nobody does." She said, burring her face in the bear.  
  
"I like you." Kirsten tried. Rachel smiled. "I don't see why your foster family doesn't like you."  
  
"They think I'm a freak."  
  
"You're not a freak. You are one of the most special people, and they are jealous of what you have."  
  
"What do I have?"  
  
"You're powers, you can do more good than they can imagine."  
  
"Really?" Rachel's voice was small, uncertain.  
  
Kirsten got eye level with Rachel, and confidently said, "Really." Rachel smiled; she leaned over to give Kirsten a hug, when her stomach loudly declared that it was in need of food. "Now let's go see what we can do about that stomach, we might have some canned vegetables in the kitchen, I don't think that those go bad. Do you mind eating canned vegetables?" Kirsten asked. Rachel thought for a moment. Normally she wouldn't touch them, but she was so hungry from not eating anything since breakfast the day before. She nodded. Kirsten held out her hand for Rachel to take. Smiling, Rachel took her hand. In the kitchen pantry, there were still about twenty cans of various fruits and vegetables. "Here, let's start with some string beans." Kirsten said, quickly searching for a can opener.  
  
"K. Can I stay here?"  
  
"Today? Sure!"  
  
"No, I mean forever."  
  
"I don't know, we only have enough food for a week here for you."  
  
"What will happen then?"  
  
"Well, I'll help you get back to the city, where you can be found."  
  
"But I don't want to be found." Rachel said stubbornly.  
  
"I'm sure someone is worried about you."  
  
"The Adams don't miss me. Ms. Matthews is the only one that liked me a little bit back there."  
  
"See, Ms. Matthews misses you, and is probably really worried about you."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Here, I know they're cold, but they will satisfy your hunger, even it you don't like the taste."  
  
"Thanks Kirsten, you're my first friend."  
  
"Thanks." 


	4. chapter 4

"Paige, we've got some good news." Piper said as Paige walked through the door.  
  
"You've found her?!?!" Paige asked excitedly, that was the only thing that she could think of that was happy.  
  
"Sort of. They think they know where she ran to. The cops are checking it out now." Piper told her.  
  
"Where?!" Paige screamed.  
  
"Calm down Paige. County Road 123, apparently Jenna Adam tried to check it out last night, but one of her other kids called saying they needed a ride home from school, making her turn around."  
  
"I'm off!" Paige said, turning around at those words.  
  
"Hold on, you left your re-charger at home that is why your cell phone isn't working. Take it now." Piper said, handing the re-charger to Paige.  
  
"Thanks." Paige shouted as she stepped into the car. She drove; the road was almost an hour away from the manor. She was nervous that she wouldn't find anything. For a day now, she had been spending the days driving around the city looking for her. It was driving her mad; she had been looking in the city, figuring that Rachel had run to there. But it made sense. The Adams lived in the country, making it logical for her to run to the country. Paige squeezed the steering wheel tightly. Jenna Adam called and asked Paige to stop by. They weren't too far out of the way, and if they found anything she was the first to be called. At the Adam's house she found Jenna very distressed. She just kept apologizing, blaming the whole thing on herself. She kept going on about her not being accepted, things she didn't know about, being scared of her. Paige didn't know who she was talking about, but one thing for sure was that Jenna was scaring Paige. She wasn't speaking coherently, and it appeared she had lost her rocker. Paige had stayed longer than she had liked. Somehow, she had gotten Jenna to take a nap, then dealt with her two other foster children for food, and some homework help. Paige sat there thinking that babysitting was not in her job description, then the call came. They had found her and old abandoned house on top of a hill on County Road 123. Paige woke Jenna and got the nervous wreck into her car. Silently they drove. It was only fifteen minutes, but in a silent car with the people inside of it waiting impatiently for the destination, it might as well be an eternity. Then they saw the other cars. Two cop cars parked at the top of a large hill. One was sitting outside of his patrol car, and the others were missing. Paige assumed that they were inside with Rachel. They looked expectantly at the officer, and he just replied with a  
  
"She won't come out."  
  
Giving a large sigh, she headed to where Paige could here voices. She turned around to ask Jenna something when she noticed that Jenna was no longer following her. "She doesn't like me… I might scare her away." Jenna explained when Paige asked why she wasn't coming. [You didn't give her a time to adjust] Paige thought. She approached the house to see the cops banging on the door, begging Rachel to let them in.  
  
"Rachel, could you please open the door?" Paige asked gently, rapping at the door.  
  
"No, I'm going to stay here with Kirsten!" Rachel screamed.  
  
Paige looked at the other three cops as if to say "Who?" The cops shrugged their shoulders. Paige went around to the back of the porch. No one was back here. The doors were all locked, but Paige knew that she could get in. She peaked into the windows. Rachel's back was facing the back door, and this mysterious Kirsten that she had heard mentioned was no where to be found. Checking behind her, she quickly orbed right behind the door. She was inside, and the cops were on the outside.  
  
"Rachel? Can I talk to you?" Paige cooed. Rachel spun around quickly.  
  
"How did you get in?" She stuttered.  
  
"The back door was unlocked." Paige quickly lied. "We need to get you home. Mrs. Adam is worried her self literally out of her mind out their. She blames this on herself. Was it Mrs. Adam's fault? Was she hurting you?"  
  
"No!" Rachel quickly answered. "They didn't understand me, it made me sad, so I went away. The only person that likes me is Kirsten."  
  
Again with the Kirsten. "Who is Kirsten?" Paige asked.  
  
A voice from another room said "Rachel! I asked you to keep me out of this, they can't see me!" Then a transparent girl, about sixteen floated in.  
  
Paige was a little taken aback, but she knew what she was. "You must be Kirsten," Paige said, making both Rachel and Kirsten look at her like she had lost her mind.  
  
"You can see me?" Kirsten questioned skeptically.  
  
"Yes, and I know why. This means that Rachel can too. And that explains Jenna's reactions. She was scared of you Rachel. Rachel, Kirsten is right, for now you need to pretend that you don't see her." Paige asked.  
  
"No!!!! She is my first friend; I can't pretend I don't see her."  
  
"Rachel, do what she says, I'll be ok."  
  
"Please," Paige begged.  
  
BAM! BAM! The cops were wanting into the house. "Paige! Is that you? How did you get in? Can you let us in?" They were asking.  
  
"May I?" Paige asked Rachel.  
  
"Ok." Rachel said quietly.  
  
"Sorry, the back door was open, and then I found Rachel, I think she'll come now." Paige said, opening the door.  
  
"Did you find this Kirsten girl?" One of them said.  
  
"Didn't look." Paige admitted.  
  
"K, well then you continue working with her, we'll look for this girl." The cop said. They departed, one of them looking up stairs, another downstairs, and the third continued on the ground floor.  
  
Paige went over to Rachel. "I'll deal with Kirsten; I want you to go with Mrs. Adam for tonight. K? I want you to on purpose to leave your bear behind. When we get outside, I want you to remember it then. Got it? " Paige whispered into Rachel's ear. Rachel nodded silently.  
  
"There is no other girl." The cop called out.  
  
"Ok, I think we're ready to go!" Paige called out. Rachel, gently put her bear on the table and took Paige's outstretched hand. They get outside, when Rachel, playing along with Paige's plan, suddenly remembers, "I left Bear inside!"  
  
"I'll go get it!" Paige quickly volunteered. "Where did you leave him?"  
  
"The table."  
  
Paige quickly jogged up to the front door. She walked into the kitchen where she saw Kirsten pouting slightly. "Here's the plan, follow me out the door. I can help you. Well, with the aid of my sisters." She said, out of the corner of her mouth, picking up Rachel's bear and heading out.  
  
"Thank you Ms. Matthews." Kirsten freely said. When Rachel and Paige are the only ones who can see her, she can talk all she wants. They exited the door. Rachel let go of the hand of the cop, and ran to give Paige a big hug and to take her bear.  
  
"You're my second friend." She said. Paige smiled. 


	5. chapter 5

Rachel went with Jenna Adam with the police to the station where she had to fill out some paper work (with the help of Jenna) about the house. That house was a new discovery to the cops. This left Paige free to take Kirsten to the manor in her car. Paige drove cautiously. If she let herself get distracted for a minute she would very likely get herself into an accident. There was just so much that was on her mind. Rachel, Kirsten, what her sisters would think, then the all important one, the road. She quickly stopped by the manor.  
  
"Piper? Phoebe?" She called out, leading Kirsten into the house.  
  
"Paige! You're home! Did they finally find her?" Phoebe asked. She was still coming into the entrance way. "Yes, but that is not all that I found." Paige said, meeting Phoebe in the living room. Kirsten smiled. She was right. Paige was worried about Rachel. She even told her family, and they were worried about Rachel too.  
  
"Paige, what is she doing here?" Phoebe questioned.  
  
"Well, she was with Rachel, I thought that maybe we could help her." Paige tried.  
  
"We'll see what we can do, my name is Phoebe."  
  
"I'm Kirsten."  
  
"And I have got to go meet Rachel at the station." Paige said leaving.  
  
"Tell her that I was right." Kirsten said.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"She'll know." Paige shrugged her shoulders and left.  
  
"The best way I know to help you is to start upstairs." Phoebe suggested.  
  
"Have you dealt with ghosts before?" Kristen asked.  
  
"Yes, and no. Ghosts in general, yes. Ones that that want to kill us are more typical. I think we have never had one that didn't want to kill us… or that wasn't in trouble."  
  
"You think that spending an eternity as a teenager running around and empty house isn't trouble. It sucks."  
  
"Haven't tried it, and don't really plan to."  
  
"Well, I don't recommend it." Phoebe smiled. She responded "I'll take your advice." Phoebe picked up the phone and quickly called Piper. Twenty minutes later Piper had joined Kirsten and Phoebe in the attic. "Doesn't the book have anything?" She asked.  
  
"Sort of. It tells us how to get rid of poltergeists. I don't think that Kirsten is a poltergeist." Phoebe responded.  
  
"Thanks." Kirsten joked.  
  
"Where's Paige?" Piper asked, looking around for the ever so famous third Charmed One.  
  
"You mean there are three of you?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"You knew me and Paige were sisters," Phoebe said, "So is Piper. That's three."  
  
"Then you're the Charmed Ones?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"Yeah." Piper sarcastically said.  
  
"Paige had to go down to the station for a little bit to do something about Rachel. Don't be surprised if we have a little visitor tonight."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Rachel's a witch."  
  
"Her foster family was scared when she accidentally used her powers." Kirsten offered.  
  
"What are her powers? Paige didn't say." Phoebe asked.  
  
"She didn't say."  
  
"Great."  
  
Down at the station house things weren't going too well. Rachel was trying to be cooperative without exposing herself and Paige. She could see by Paige's look that this was an important secret.  
  
"So who is this Kirsten?" The officer asked.  
  
"My friend, she's sitting there." Rachel said, pointing to an empty seat. Paige had to hand it to her, she was a good liar.  
  
"No one is sitting there sweetie." Jenna said.  
  
"Yes she is. She said me and her could live at that house forever!" Rachel said.  
  
"Rachel, we need you to tell the truth. People were killed in that house fifteen years ago." The officer tried again. His patience was running thin. He had other things to do than to try to get answers that he could file into a report from an eight year old whose imaginary friend was sitting in a corner of the station. He thought that maybe a different angle, death, scare the girl, would get him the answers he wanted.  
  
"Kirsten found me in the woods. I was cold and tired, she showed me that house."  
  
"Where did you get food?" Paige asked.  
  
"There was a cabinet and a can opener. I'm tired Ms. Matthews." Rachel said cutely.  
  
"Of coarse, we just need to go to one more place and then you can go home with Mrs. Adam." Paige tried. Rachel looked horrified.  
  
"I want to go home with you!" She said.  
  
Paige flashed a look that said 'I'll see what I can do if you don't press this.' Rachel got the point.  
  
"I'll see what I can get from her myself and tell you what I get." Paige promised the cop.  
  
"Good luck, this girl lives in her own fantasy world. Imaginary friends." The officer said shaking his head.  
  
"Ok, then. Rachel? Jenna? We just have to go to social services to do a few things there. Rachel, you can sleep on the way." Paige said. She grabbed a hold of Rachel's hand, and escorted her to the car.  
  
"Paige, I don't know how many times I have to thank you. You have been a saint today." Jenna said.  
  
"It was nothing, really." Paige said.  
  
At social services, things went better than Paige had hoped for. Rachel insisted the truth. The Adams made her feel like a 'weirdo' and Jenna kept blaming herself because she had paid very little attention. In a very blunt statement, Jenna said that she couldn't watch Rachel that night, she was too stressed, and she knew things didn't go well between them. Inside Paige was jumping for joy, that night Rachel was in need of a different house. And to her even bigger luck, none of the other families couldn't take her on such short notice.  
  
"I'll take her." Paige casually offered her boss when there was nothing else to do.  
  
"You sure? The Durans said that they could take her tomorrow night, but they couldn't do it tonight. It will only be one night." Her boss promised.  
  
"Oh yeah. No problem." Paige said.  
  
"Thank you Paige. Just so you know, this normally doesn't happen. I have never seen this happen before."  
  
"Your welcome." Paige said. "Rachel?" Paige tried to shake Rachel awake. "Come on, you're coming home with me tonight. No body else could take you tonight so I gladly volunteered." Paige said, scooping the sleeping child into her arms. "Ugh. Fighting demons hand to hand, and I have problems lifting a child." Paige muttered to herself.  
  
At home, she gently laid Rachel in her bed, and joined her sisters and Kirsten in the attic. "Rachel's asleep in my room." She said.  
  
"You were able to get her here?" Kirsten asked excitedly.  
  
"Yes, did you guys cast any spells to help? It was almost too easy. Jenna practically admitted that she didn't care about Rachel and that she was scared of her. Rachel said that they ignored her. And none of the other families could take her. It was perfect."  
  
"No spells here. That was all good luck." Piper said.  
  
"Have you found anything?" Paige asked, peering over the pedestal at the Book of Shadows.  
  
"Nothing." Phoebe said, turning the page.  
  
"We do have someone who could tell us living here." Paige stated.  
  
"No, he's away at some training thing, he told me not to call unless it was an extreme emergency." Piper said.  
  
"Who?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"Leo. Our whitelighter, my husband." Piper said.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"What about Cole?"  
  
"Lets see. The only ghosts he's dealt with are the ones who want to kill us." Phoebe responded. They sat in silence. They were all alone on this one. Leo couldn't help, Cole would know very little. "What if the way to do it is like the movies." Phoebe suggested. "You know, unfinished business, something you need to do?"  
  
"No, don't think so." Kirsten said.  
  
"Was there anything you wanted and as a human being needed?" Piper asked.  
  
"Friends." Kirsten said somberly.  
  
"Living out there alone, I was home schooled. The only friends I had were my cousins who came once every two years. I never knew anyone my own age." She said staring out the window. Piper looked at Phoebe who smiled.  
  
"I think we found your business." She said. 


	6. chapter 6

Rachel woke the next morning unsure of her surroundings. She was asleep when Paige carried her into the manor, and the next thing she knew, she was lying in a huge bed, with interesting things decorating the walls. She gave a shout of surprise, but quickly silenced herself when she saw Kirsten sleeping in one of the chairs in the room.  
  
"Kirsten, where are we?" She whispered, shaking Kirsten awake.  
  
"Hey, you're up!"  
  
"Yeah, where are we?"  
  
"Ms. Matthew's house. She and her sisters are helping us."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, I was right. Ms. Matthews was worried about you. She and her sisters care about you. They wouldn't go through all this trouble if the didn't."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
"I really do." Rachel smiled.  
  
"Kirsten, I'm hungry." Rachel then whined.  
  
"There is nothing I can do about that, I haven't been hungry in fifteen years, but I think I know three people who can do something about that. Come on, get dressed, and we can go get some food."  
  
"I have nothing to wear." Rachel said, she showed Kirsten an old T- shirt that Paige put her in.  
  
"They found these in the attic." Kirsten said, showing Rachel some old clothing of the Halliwells.  
  
"They are so pretty."  
  
"Come on, get dressed so we can eat some breakfast." Kirsten encouraged. Rachel scurried to quickly dressed, and then took Kirsten's hand. Kirsten led her to the kitchen where Piper was eating cornflakes, and reading the paper. Shyly, Rachel stood just outside the room. Kirsten cleared her throat, making Piper look up. Piper jumped up at the sight of the cute shy girl standing at the door. She walked over to Rachel and squatted to her eye level.  
  
"Hey. My name's Piper. You're Rachel right?" Rachel nodded. "Are you hungry?" Again, Rachel nodded. "What would you like?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I can make you anything you want. Eggs, toast, cinnamon rolls, name it; I'll make it for you." Rachel looked like she was deep in thought.  
  
"Do you know how to make egg toast?" She feebly asked.  
  
Piper thought. "Yep, I sure do! Just sit right there, and I'll have your egg toast done in a minute." Rachel smiled, and took her seat.  
  
"Kirsten, Phoebe is in the attic, she is trying to figure out how to help you."  
  
"You guys are too kind; I don't know how to thank you."  
  
Piper looked over at Rachel sitting at the table, and melted. She was falling in love with that little girl. She smiled. "You already have." She said. The rest of the morning was pretty much routine. Piper decided that she would put herself in charge of making sure that Rachel was entertained. Phoebe and Kirsten were working upstairs helping Kirsten, and Paige was at work. The Durans would be there that night to pick Rachel up.  
  
"Hey!" Leo said, surprising Piper at lunch.  
  
"Hey to you too! I thought that you couldn't get time off for the next week!" Piper said giving Leo a quick kiss.  
  
"I'm not supposed to, but they gave us a lunch break. Came to see you."  
  
"Uh… Piper? I accidentally, kinda, well made the furniture disappear." Rachel said, coming into the kitchen.  
  
"Who's that Piper?" Leo discretely asked his wife.  
  
"I'll tell you later." Piper said. "Do you do that often?" Piper asked the girl.  
  
Rachel shyly nodded. "That's ok, do you know how to get it back?" Rachel shook her head.  
  
"Mrs. Adam got really mad at me. Then I ran away, I don't know if they ever found the sink."  
  
"What disappeared?"  
  
"The sofa." Leo cringed.  
  
"We'll see if we can find it, Leo can you continue stirring this? And if you get a second, we need your help, we have a good ghost upstairs who wants to go someplace else, and we could use your input." Piper asked, handing Leo the spoon, and following Rachel into the living room.  
  
"But I'm going to be late! I only got an hour!" Leo called.  
  
"Phoebe! Kirsten! We need you down here!" Piper called, as she walked with her arms out straight out, looking for the sofa.  
  
"What's up? And where's the sofa?" Phoebe asked, looking at the two awkwardly walk in the living room.  
  
"That would be Rachel's power, she makes things disappears. Where they go, and how to get them back, or whether they are invisible or not are yet to be determined."  
  
"Ok," Kirsten said.  
  
"Could one of you go relieve Leo in the kitchen, he has to get back to work."  
  
"I'll go; I'm not good at looking for things." Kirsten volunteered.  
  
"Hi." Leo said, upon seeing Kirsten.  
  
"Hey, you the Leo that I'm supposed to relieve?"  
  
"Yeah, you the ghost?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm Kirsten."  
  
"And I will see if I can get out of training to help you." Leo said.  
  
"Thanks." Leo smiled, turned the spoon to Kirsten, and went to the living room.  
  
"Piper, I need to go back, but I'm going to see if I can come back early and help you. I see that this needs my help."  
  
"We all need your help." Piper said. "Hurry home."  
  
"I will." Leo said orbing out.  
  
"Well, we got more help." Piper said.  
  
"We also have a missing couch." Phoebe pointed out.  
  
"We have a problem!" Paige called, coming through the door. 


	7. chapter 7

Yeah! Another chapter up! I could shout for joy. But I wont cuz my voice is gone. *Tear* back to the story. Thanks to all of my reviewers! You are the reason that I still write. If people didn't review then why should I write. If you haven't reviewed yet, I encourage you to do so. If you love it, if you hate it, I want to know what you think of it. Things I should change, IDEAS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER…. Especially if you are a fellow writer. Reviews are oxygen. Enough boredom… to the story.  
  
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"What do you mean?" Piper asked Paige.  
  
"The Durans want to pick up Rachel now while their other kid is at school. And doing a background check on them, they haven't had a magical kid."  
  
"So we need to bind her powers." Phoebe said.  
  
"Or figure out a way to keep her here." Piper added.  
  
"I like Piper's idea!" Rachel said, adding her two cents.  
  
"Rachel, sweetie, it's really hard for that to happen. There are all sorts of papers that I would have to sign, and Piper would have to sign more. And the Durans are looking forward to meeting you." Paige said, getting eye level with the girl.  
  
"But they don't understand me like you guys do." Rachel complained.  
  
"How does this sound, you and I can go play some more until the Durans come? Ok?" Piper said.  
  
Rachel thought for a minute. "Ok," she said. "But what about your couch?"  
  
"We'll worry about that later, now, we play." Piper swooped up the girl and began to tickle her. Rachel laughed hysterically.  
  
"I'm going to go help Kirsten in the kitchen." Phoebe told Paige, and she slinked off into the kitchen.  
  
"What's going on in there?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"Piper's playing with Rachel before the Durans come to get her." Phoebe said.  
  
"When are they coming?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"Soon. Here, let me take the spoon from you. You go play with them." Phoebe said. Kirsten said her thanks and went to join the game of hide-and-go-seek that Paige, Piper and Rachel were playing. Phoebe sniffed lunch, took a look into the pot and turned her face away in disgust. "Pea soup? Who is Piper trying to kid?" Phoebe turned the stove off, and dumped the soup into a container, and stuck it into the fridge. Smiling, she pulled out a frozen pizza from the freezer. "This is more like it." She said. Phoebe set the timer, and stuck the pizza into the oven.  
  
"Phoebe? What, why aren't you stirring my soup?" Piper asked, as she looked through the living room for Rachel.  
  
"Pea soup? I have a strong hunch that Rachel would prefer pizza, so there is a pizza in the oven."  
  
"I spent all morning on that!" Piper complained. The door bell rang, and Piper and Phoebe were still bickering, as Piper went to open the door. "Hello?" She said.  
  
"Hi, I Kara Duaran. I'm here to pick up Rachel." She said. Piper's face fell, and her heart sank.  
  
"Come in." Phoebe said. "Give us a second to find her, we were playing hide-and-go-seek."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Have a seat," Phoebe said, about to offer the couch, but then realized that there was no couch, "um lets see. The couch is getting repaired, so, there's some seats in the observatory." Phoebe led Kara into the observatory, and Piper went to go find Rachel.  
  
"Rachel? Game's over, I need you to come out." She cooed. Rachel didn't come out from her hiding spot. "Rachel, lunch is ready." Piper tried.  
  
"The buzzer never went buzz. You're lying. I know that Mrs. Duran is here. I don't want to go." Rachel said from behind a plant. Piper went to the plant, expecting to see her there, but when she pulled back the branches, Rachel wasn't there.  
  
"I know Rachel, I know, but you don't have a choice. If it were up to me, you could stay as long as you want, but it isn't up to us. Or Paige. Come on Rachel."  
  
"NO!" She said, this time from the clock.  
  
"Paige, can you come out of your hiding spot for a second?" Piper asked.  
  
"What's up?" Paige asked, coming out from a cabinet.  
  
"How did you fit in there?" Piper asked amazed. Paige opened her mouth to answer, but Piper held up her hand to stop her. "Never mind. Bigger things. Rachel appears, (or not?) to be invisible."  
  
"That would almost make sense."  
  
"Almost?"  
  
"That would make her two powers linked."  
  
"Yes. Anyway, Kara Duran is here, I need to find her."  
  
"She is? You should have told me! Where is she?"  
  
"The observatory, but first I need you to try to see if you can sense her."  
  
"I've never done that before."  
  
"I know I need you to try. You're half whitelighter, I need you to try."  
  
Paige shut her eyes, and Piper said a silent prayer that it would work. "Check behind that chair there." Paige whispered into Piper's ear so that Rachel couldn't here her. "No, I couldn't find her Piper, sorry." She said loud enough for Rachel to hear. Kirsten could hear everything that was happening, and came out from her hiding spot in the kitchen. Silently, she stood next to Paige.  
  
"Well, thanks for trying." Piper said.  
  
"Anytime, now, I have to go deal with Mrs. Duran." Paige said, walking quietly out of the room, with Kirsten following her.  
  
Knowing the best way to get Rachel out was to trick her, Piper sat down in the chair that Rachel was hiding behind. Pretending like Rachel was right in front of her, Piper began to talk. "Rachel I know you want to stay. I would give anything to let you stay. But now is not the time to test this new power of yours. It is really cool and I wish that I could become invisible, but Mrs. Duran needs to be able to see you." Suddenly, Piper felt something hugging her leg. Surprised, she looked down but saw nothing.  
  
"Piper, I understand that I have to, and I don't want to. But I cant go back to normal." Rachel said.  
  
Piper stopped breathing. This was not good. She needed to let Rachel go, but how could she, when Rachel couldn't be seen. "Phoebe? Could you come here for a minute?" Piper innocently asked. Phoebe came in, and looked expectantly at Piper. "We have a slight glitch."  
  
"As in?"  
  
"Rachel is sitting in my lap." Piper said. Phoebe looked at Piper like she was crazy.  
  
"Piper, there is no one in your lap."  
  
"I am!" Rachel said. Phoebe jumped back.  
  
"You mean?"  
  
"Yup. Any ideas on how to reverse this?"  
  
"Is this one of her powers?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then she has to figure it out."  
  
"Great."  
  
"Rachel, can you try again?"  
  
Suddenly, there Rachel was, sitting in Piper's lap. "Ok, come on now, we have to go meet Mrs. Duran." Piper said, putting the girl off of her lap.  
  
The three then went back into the observatory. Scared, Rachel hid behind Piper.  
  
"Hello there. Are you Rachel?" Kara Duran asked. Peeping behind Piper's leg, Rachel feebly answered. "My name is Kara Duran. You can call me Kara. Ok?" Again, Rachel nodded. "Why don't you go get your stuff and we can go." Rachel stuck out her bottom lip, but a look from Paige behind Kara told her to Brighton up. She nodded.  
  
"Piper, what can I keep?" Rachel asked.  
  
"Let me show you." The two went upstairs, where they got a small bag of clothing together.  
  
"What did she mean by that?" Kara asked.  
  
"Rachel had nothing clean when she came last night, so we set out some of our old clothing for her to pick through for something to wear. I assume she wanted to keep some of it. That is if you don't mind." Paige said  
  
"Oh, no, I don't mind at all."  
  
"Got everything?" Phoebe asked.  
  
Rachel looked at what she was carrying. Her ever present bear, and the small grocery sack of clothing. Looking up at Phoebe, she nodded.  
  
"Then, let's go." Kara said. Hastily, Rachel hugged each of the Halliwells good byes, and gave a piece of paper to Paige.  
  
"Bye Rachel!" They called. The door clicked shut. It sounded so final. Piper was on the verge of tears. Paige looked over at the paper that Rachel handed her. It was folded up, and written across the front it said "Kirsten."  
  
"Here, I think that this is for you." Paige said handing it to her.  
  
"Thanks." Gingerly, Kirsten opened it. She read it, and tears began to stream down her face. Inside was a picture of Rachel hugging Kirsten goodbye. She had written. "Kirsten, I know that when it is time for me to go, I wont be allowed to hug you goodbye, so I drew you this picture. That way you can always remember the hug that I gave you. Love, Rachel."  
  
"She's gone." Piper said. 


	8. chapter 8

Of coarse the day after I post an author's note saying that my computer is broken and I cant type, I get my computer fixed. Figures. So here's the next chapter. Its short and rushed, but I wanted it to get it posted sooner. I want to finish it before I go places this summer. As always, read and review. Enjoy.  
  
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The mood in the house was very grim for several hours after Rachel left. No one wanted to see her leave. She brought a feeling to the house that no one had felt in a long time. Phoebe hadn't seen Piper so happy since Prue had died. Rachel had resurrected the old Piper, the carefree Piper. Paige was at work. Every time something different happened with Rachel, Paige had more paper work. The three sat in the large chairs like melted wax. No body was moving. "Hey Kirsten, I think I have a solution." Phoebe said. Quickly getting an idea.  
  
"You do?" She asked.  
  
"We need to get you to crossover." Phoebe said, her brilliant idea forgotten quickly.  
  
"We knew that."  
  
"I know, and I had this great idea, and then I forgot it."  
  
"Hello?" Leo said, poking his head into the living room door, where everyone was sitting. "Why so grim?" He asked, seeing the frowns on everyone's faces.  
  
"She's gone." Piper said in monotone.  
  
"I'm sorry honey, but maybe we can start our own family soon." Leo said. He beamed down at her, but she didn't smile back. Piper gave him a quick kiss. She then saw in the door way, someone else standing there.  
  
"Who's that?" Piper asked.  
  
"She's is the elder's solution to Kirsten's problem." Leo said. "Becca, why don't you come on in?" When the woman at the door stepped forward, Piper noticed that she was about Kirsten's age, and not as old as Piper had originally thought.  
  
"Hi." Piper said.  
  
Shyly, Becca replied. "Hi."  
  
"Leo, can you come here for a second?" Piper asked, pulling Leo into the kitchen. "What is she doing here?" She demanded.  
  
"I was going to explain that in a minute." Leo said.  
  
"Oh. Me first. What is she doing here?"  
  
"She's what the elders had in mind when they wanted to help Kirsten. She's here to be a friend."  
  
"You can't just force friends upon each other." Piper said.  
  
"Kirsten won't know that Becca was there for that. Even Becca doesn't know why she's here. She thinks that it is part of whitelighter training, and in a way it is." Leo said, releasing Piper's fears.  
  
"Do you think this will work?"  
  
"I sure hope so. It's the only idea we've got."  
  
"That wasn't my question. It was a yes or no question."  
  
"Umm… I hope so?" Leo tried again. Piper glared at him. "Yes?" he said uncertainly.  
  
"Fine, come on, lets go." Piper said. They returned to the living room expecting to see an awkward silence, to their surprise, everyone was chatting happily. "Looks like it worked." She whispered.  
  
"I think it did." He whispered back. The two smiled up at each other.  
  
"There's something I want to talk to you about." Piper said. She pulled Leo up into their bedroom.  
  
"I got a call from the doctor, with the fertility tests yesterday." Piper started.  
  
"And?" Leo prompted. Piper wasn't smiling. Her face was grim, and she was avoiding his eyes. He feared the worse.  
  
"The doctor thinks that it is impossible for me to have kids. He asked me if I had taken any blows to the abdomen. And I told him no, so I kinda left him in the dark about why. I'm so sorry Leo. I know how badly you want a family. And I want one too. I'm so sorry." She said. She broke down in tears. Leo pulled up close, and held her tight.  
  
"It's not your fault. It's evil's fault. There are other options. We'll just use one of those." Leo reassured.  
  
"No Leo, it is my fault. I'm the one that goes fighting evil once a week. It's my fault."  
  
"Piper, whatever you do, don't blame yourself." He kissed her tenderly on the head. "I love you no matter what." He said. They sat there. The laughter drifting up from downstairs seemed almost inappropriate, but it was a nice distraction. They lay on the bed for twenty minutes, enjoying each other's company. Neither one said anything; everything that needed was said by Leo, and those three magic words. "Piper, I was thinking, what about adoption?" Leo said, bringing up the subject that they were both almost avoiding.  
  
"I think that that is the best option." She said.  
  
"I know the perfect girl." Leo whispered to himself. "Come on, let's get back to everyone before they start to get worried." Leo said, helping Piper stand up. Taking her hand, he ushered her out of their room.  
  
"PIPER!" Phoebe's voice called from the downstairs. "IT WORKED!" She happily cried. Her feet came running up the stairs. She stopped dead, her smile gone, when she saw Piper's tear stained face. "Piper, what's wrong? Why is your mascara running?" She pulled her hand inside her sleeve, and whipped the make-up off of Piper's face.  
  
'I'll tell you later Pheebs. What worked?" Piper quickly changed the subject.  
  
"Kirsten is gone. Becca followed her up."  
  
"I gotta go help Kirsten get acquainted up there." He said. He looked into Piper's eyes to ask if she was ok. Piper nodded. Leo kissed her forehead, and orbed.  
  
"That's great."  
  
"You don't seem too happy." She commented.  
  
"It's something else. But now's not the time. You should call Paige and tell her what happened."  
  
"Ok. Piper, if you want to talk, I'm here." Phoebe offered. Piper smiled.  
  
"I'll take you up on that offer later. Right now I think I'm going to take a quick nap."  
  
"Ok."  
  
The mood that was in the manor when Piper went for her nap, remained for weeks after ward. Piper confessed to Phoebe and Paige later that night about not being able to have children. Her mood about it reflected into Phoebe and Paige. Things were getting back to normal almost two months later. Demons had come, and been vanquished, but the memory of Rachel's laughter still pierced the halls.  
  
"She's done it again!" Paige exclaimed one morning, coming home early.  
  
Piper was coming down the stairs, still rubbing her eyes after a late night at P3. "Who did what again?" She asked sleepily.  
  
"Rachel, she ran away again!" Piper's heart skipped a beat. Rachel was all alone in the city.  
  
"When?" She asked. She was just as panicked as Paige was.  
  
"Last night! Apparently Kara wasn't worried until this morning and Rachel 'wouldn't wake up'."  
  
"Do you think she actually ran away, or do you think that she used her powers and wasn't able to go back to normal?" Piper asked. She was going to think rational about this. She was going to think rational about this. She was going to think rational about this. Hell, who was she kidding? She loved Rachel like a daughter, and the thought that she was missing killed her.  
  
"I don't know Pipe. I don't know." Piper collapsed in the chair. Breathing heavily. But she didn't have to do much for long. The door bell rang.  
  
"I'll get it." She volunteered. She opened the door and gasped. 


	9. chapter 9

WOO HOO! Two chapters in two days! I am on a roll, and out of school. Meaning that I will likely be able to update sooner. YEA CHIPPO!!! As always, please review. Reviews are food for the soul. Reviews make the author's world go around. Please? Pretty Please? Thanx.  
  
  
  
Nothing could have prepared Piper for what she saw on the door step. The ultimate evil was a snitch to look at compared to the mass on her door step. "Rachel." Piper said gingerly, helping the exhausted girl inside. Rachel looked like she had been running for days, not just one, and had been to hell and back. Rachel's clothing was torn, shoes gone, blood stained her socks and shorts, and her hair messed into a badly tangled nest. She was so tired that once she was in Piper's arms, she just collapsed, unable to hold her own weight. "Rachel, what happened?" Piper asked.  
  
"They came after me." She whispered, on the verge of passing out.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Bad people."  
  
"Bad people? Rachel, did they use magic?" Weakly Rachel nodded. Piper looked up from the girl, and up to her sister. "Go get Leo." She ordered quietly.  
  
"I have to," Paige protested.  
  
"Please do this first Paige. Her leg is still bleeding." Piper said, lifting Rachel's shorts to show a five inch gash running down her leg. Paige gasped at the gruesome sight. She understood the urgency. She left for the kitchen, where Leo was still making coffee. Seconds later, Piper heard the sound of Leo's feet come running into the living room. He saw Piper's panicked face and ran over to her. He hadn't seen Rachel from his angle. Then he saw her.  
  
"Oh god!" He whispered. He threw his hands over her leg, healing the wound, and cleaning the blood from her shorts and socks. "They attacked her recently, those wounds can't be more than a few hours old." He whispered to Piper. But Rachel wasn't only hurt by demons. Some of her injuries were caused by humans, and those Leo couldn't heal. From the looks of her, some low lifes on the street also got to her, and her shoes. She laid there for some time. Piper never moved from her side. Like she was told to do, by her boss, Paige had called Rachel in as being at her house. To Piper's displeasure, Kara Duran came racing over to the manor to help with Rachel.  
  
"Is she ok?" Kara asked.  
  
"Yes. Just tired and a little beat up." Piper answered.  
  
"Beat up? Where are her shoes?"  
  
"I wasn't there. How was I supposed to know what happened to her?" Piper exploded. Kara looked shocked at Piper's outburst. She wasn't expecting Piper to blow up at her like that. "I'm sorry." Piper quickly apologized.  
  
Kara didn't accept her apology. Quiet the contrary, ignoring the apology all together, she stared at Piper with cold eyes, and spoke "Is she comfortable."  
  
It was like a rock hitting Piper in the stomach. "Of coarse she's comfortable! I can not believe you're asking that question. Maybe you're mad at me about the fact that Rachel ran away from your house, to here. Is that why you're attacking me about my ability to take care of her? You know what I have been watching her since she collapsed at my doorstep, and she has only gotten better. And if you are going to accuse me about doing a better job at a job I can already do just perfectly, I swear to god that I will kick you out of this house, and will never let you back in. Even if Rachel is in here, and you have a warrant saying you need her back. You will not be able to come in." Piper exploded.  
  
"I think she needs a blanket." Kara commented.  
  
"THAT'S IT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, AND NEVER COME BACK AGAIN!" Piper yelled, she walked towards Kara, making her back up. She did this all the way to the door. Once Kara was out of the door, Piper slammed the door.  
  
"I need my purse!" Kara called through the locked door. Piper found the purse on the table near Rachel, and threw it out the window and onto the front lawn. The contents spilled out.  
  
"What was that all about?" Paige asked, coming into the living room.  
  
"I think I did something bad. I mean really bad, and you're going to hate me for it."  
  
"No I won't. What did you do?"  
  
"I kicked Kara out of the house, and told her never to come back." Piper said, her head hung low.  
  
"You didn't"  
  
"I did."  
  
"Actually, I heard the whole thing. You had every right too. You did give her a warning. But I better go and apologize to her for you."  
  
"Don't Paige. I should do it after I cool down."  
  
"I still need to go and help her." Paige turned to go out to the front steps where Kara was sitting.  
  
"Wait Paige, I need to talk to you for a second Can you come into this room for a second?" Piper said, pulling her youngest sister into the ajoining room where she could still see Rachel.  
  
"What is it Piper?"  
  
"Since Rachel left last time, and I realized that I can't have children of my own, I have been thinking seriously of adopting Rachel. Do you think you could help me?"  
  
"Way ahead of you." Paige said.  
  
"What? What do you mean by that?" Piper asked.  
  
"When Leo found out that you couldn't have kids, and he saw how much you loved Rachel, he approached me. You're half way there already." Piper began to cry. It was a dream come true.  
  
"Does Rachel know?"  
  
"No."  
  
"I love Leo so much. He knows what I want to do, before I do. Sorry, go deal with Kara, and let her in. I feel terrible." Piper said.  
  
"Thanks. You might want to clear you make-up first. You have mascara streaks."  
  
Piper gave a small laugh. "Thanks Paige." Paige smiled and went to the door to let Kara in. Piper went up to her room, where she could clean up, before making another appearance in front of Kara. She found Leo, taking a quick nap on their bed. When she opened the door, he woke up.  
  
"What time is it?" He grunted.  
  
"Only 1:30. Come here." Piper said. Leo went over to his wife with mass confusion. She went and kissed him passionately.  
  
"Not that I didn't mind that, but what was that for?" He asked.  
  
"I heard that you had been working with Paige about adopting Rachel, and that was a thank you. I love you so much you know that?"  
  
"And I love you just as much. Piper, there are still a lot of things we need to do."  
  
"I know, but if you hadn't been so smart, we probably wouldn't be this far." She kissed him again. "When were you going to tell me that you were doing all this?"  
  
"Your birthday next week."  
  
"My birthday is next week?" Piper asked.  
  
"Yeah, did you forget?"  
  
"Yeah. God, I'll be 32."  
  
"But the most beautiful 32 year old out there." Leo said, bending over to give his wife a quick kiss.  
  
"I have to go down and apologize to Kara, come with me please." Piper said.  
  
"What did you do?" Leo asked.  
  
"I kicked her out, but I let Paige let her back in." Piper said.  
  
"I love that fiery temper of the Halliwell women, but love it with your sweet heart the most."  
  
"You are so sweet. Come on. I want to get this over with. I don't really like her very much." Piper led Leo, out of their room, holding his hand. They found Kara and Paige talking in the living room in hushed voices to avoid waking Rachel. "Kara, I'm sorry for throwing you out just earlier. I, um, well, I kinda lost my temper. And that is why I allowed Paige to let you back in. I don't stay mad at people for long."  
  
"Apology accepted. Listen, I was talking to Paige, and out of the best interests of Rachel, I was thinking that maybe Rachel could stay here. I don't want to take her home just yet, with her being still injured, and how she ran away and all."  
  
"We'd love that." Piper accepted. For the first time in two months, she was truly happy. 


	10. chapter 10

I am so impressed with myself. I finished yet another chapter! Yeah for me!!!! Um… as always, review. Yada yada. Oh… school's out so I will probably get this done faster, that and my other two fics. If you like this fic, check out my others. They're also really good. Uh huh. Now on with the story!  
  
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Rachel woke up later that night. Piper had fallen asleep in the chair next to the sofa. "Piper?" Rachel weakly whispered. She was very quiet, but Piper was able to hear her, and woke with a start.  
  
"You're up! How are you feeling honey?" She asked.  
  
"I hurt."  
  
"I bet. You had a bad cut on your leg, and Leo healed that, but he couldn't heal your other injuries. You have to stick those out, ok?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you want anything?" She asked.  
  
"Can I have a glass of water?"  
  
"Anything." Piper said.  
  
"Thank you." Piper went and got the water, stuck a straw in it, and gave it to Rachel. "Is Mrs. Duran here?"  
  
"She was, but she let you stay the night."  
  
"Good. I like it here."  
  
"And I like having you here."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"You're the first person that ever said that to me." Piper smiled. This little girl had been through so much through her life, and yet she was still so sweet.  
  
"Rachel, why did you run away from Mrs. Duran's house?" Piper dared to ask.  
  
"They were after me. I needed to go away. I like Mrs. Duran; I didn't want to see her hurt." A heart of pure gold.  
  
"Who's they?" Piper asked.  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"Have they been after you a long time?"  
  
"Yes. Piper, they scare me. They want to kill me. That's why I ran to here. I wanted your help."  
  
"You had a lot of people worried. You should have called first."  
  
"Na uh. Mrs. Duran said she didn't want me to talk to you ever again."  
  
"She did?"  
  
"Yeah, she doesn't like you because I like you better."  
  
"Come on, lets get you up to the guest bedroom, you'll be more comfortable there." Piper suggested.  
  
"But I'm not tired. Let's play hide-and-go-seek!" Rachel said, quickly forgetting that she was hurt.  
  
"Honey, Leo doesn't want you to walk yet. You got a lot of rocks in your feet from running around without shoes. Don't they hurt?"  
  
Rachel thought for a minute, looked at her feet, and answered "Oh yeah, they do. I , I was just so excited to see you that I forgot I hurt. Those boys in the park took them again. They always take my shoes. I'm sorry I lost your old shoes Piper." It shocked Piper how casual Rachel was about her shoes being taken. She had to remind herself that Rachel lived in the park for a year before Paige found her. Just as she had when she discovered that Rachel was lost in the city, Piper shuttered at the thought of the little seven year old living on the streets.  
  
"Shhh, sweetie, its ok. They didn't fit me anymore. Come on, let's go. I want you to hang onto my neck." Piper said, scooping up the girl. She was surprised to see how much lighter she seemed than when she had left. When Piper carried Rachel in earlier, Piper hadn't noticed that she seemed lighter. Her main concern was for the gash, and the other injuries. "You're a mess. Before we get you into the bed, lets give you a quick bath, ok?"  
  
"Not too much soap. Soap in cuts hurts, k?"  
  
"Only a little soap. Got it."  
  
"And you gotta brush my hair first, other wise it will get ratted."  
  
"Brush hair first. Got it."  
  
"And the water can't bee too cold, or too hot."  
  
"I'll let you be a judge of the water."  
  
"K." Paige and Phoebe peered out of Paige's door and saw this.  
  
"She's going to make a great mom." Paige commented, shutting the door.  
  
"Too bad she can't have kids." Phoebe said.  
  
"They haven't told you?" Paige asked, surprised that Phoebe had been left out of the loop.  
  
"What haven't they told me?"  
  
"I've said too much. You'll have to talk to Leo or Piper."  
  
"What! Come on Paige, tell me!"  
  
"Can't!" Phoebe made advances, trying to get the information, but Paige just smiled and orbed away.  
  
"NO FAIR!" Phoebe shouted. She ran out of her room, certain Paige didn't orb out of the house. She found Paige watching tv. "That was no fair. You can't do that. That was cheating."  
  
"If life was fair, ducks would have shot guns. Besides, trying to squeeze information out of me isn't fair either."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"I've said it once; you'll have to talk to Piper or Leo."  
  
"Ok, do you know where either of them is?"  
  
"You and I both saw Piper go and give Rachel a bath, and I think Leo is upstairs at the book of shadows."  
  
"Why is he checking the book?"  
  
"See if Rachel's attackers are there. He knows what kind of weapon they use."  
  
"But we don't even know what they look like."  
  
"He's as determined as a father."  
  
"Ah ha! Another hint! What do you know?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Fine, I go ask now."  
  
"Good, because I'm not telling you anything." Phoebe chucked, then ran up to the attic, where Leo also turned her down for information, saying that she should hear it from Piper. Piper was a bit tied up at the time, but it didn't matter to Phoebe.  
  
"Piper, can I talk to you for a second?" Phoebe asked, poking her head into the bathroom.  
  
"Uh, sure." Piper said, coming out into the hall.  
  
"Paige told me something about you and Leo becoming parents." She said.  
  
Piper pulled Phoebe into another room in the hall. "Leo and I are going to try and adopt Rachel, but we don't want to tell her yet. If we get her hopes up, and we won't be allowed to, for some reason, we don't want her to be heart broken."  
  
"When are you going to tell her?"  
  
"When we get a green light, or soon there after. We want to have her there when we make it official. And Phoebe, I just found out that Leo had been going through the steps with Paige for the past two months today. So this is really new to me."  
  
"That's why Paige knew something. Honey, I am so happy for you."  
  
"Thanks. But don't tell her yet. Got it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Now, may I go back to reading the Velveteen Rabbit?"  
  
"Can I join? I love that book!"  
  
"Can you take over for a while? I'm so tired."  
  
"Sure thing." The two went back into the bathroom.  
  
"Rachel, can Phoebe finish reading to you, and get you ready to play in the bed?" Piper asked. Rachel looked scared. But she saw the trust in both Phoebe's and Piper's eyes and nodded. Phoebe smiled, picked up the book, and sat on the toilet seat (it was down) and began to read. Piper smiled and went into her bedroom to take a nap. She didn't realize how tired she was, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit. When Rachel was done, she wanted to know if Piper was going to come, so she and Phoebe stopped by her bedroom. They peeked in the dark room and saw the sleeping Piper.  
  
"Let's let her sleep. Can you play with me?" Rachel said. Phoebe's heart melted. She looked down at the girl in her arms, and thought that a girl who had that much street smarts and was still that sweet was impossible.  
  
"I would be honored, Princess Rachel." Phoebe said, putting on a fake British accent. Rachel giggled. The two played far into the night. Rachel, who had slept the entire day, was full of energy. She was bummed out that she couldn't walk until the next day, but she didn't let that kill her spirits. She even out lasted Phoebe. After Phoebe fell asleep, Rachel took a book off the shelf and began to look at the pictures.  
  
"Can't you read?" Piper asked when she woke up much later that night. She came into the doorway and watched Rachel for a few minutes.  
  
"Not really. I didn't go to first grade, and school hasn't started yet. School starts in just a week. I never learned. Do you think the kids will tease me because I'm gonna be older?"  
  
"I think that most kids are mean, and will make fun of any one that is different. But being different is what makes us so special. You just have to be careful not to disappear in the middle of class." Piper explained. She tapped Phoebe on the shoulder, waking her up. "Go to bed sweetie." She said. Phoebe smiled, and got up and left. Piper promptly took her chair. "I brought a book that I thought we could read together, if you're still not sleepy."  
  
"What book?" She asked.  
  
"Maybe you've heard of it, Harry Potter?"  
  
"I saw that movie!" She exclaimed. "Yeah! Let's read!" She said.  
  
Piper opened up the book and began to read.  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much…" Soon, she was no longer Piper Halliwell-Wyatt, she was Harry Potter. Ron Weasely. Hermione Granger. Professor Snape. Soon, through the words of J.K. Rowling, she had Rachel captured, giggling at funny things, and gasping at the scarier parts. It was nearing dawn when Rachel drifted off to sleep, and at perfect timing. Piper closed the book after the third chapter. She kissed the sleeping girl's head, turned off the light, and left. 


	11. chapter 11

Yeah! Another chapter. I am on a roll. Ok a few notes. First, I know nothing about how to adopt a kid or anything like that, so if my time frames for how long it takes Piper and Leo to adopt are off, that's why. I'm making it fit the story. Second, I changed Rachel's age, but I haven't bothered to change the previous chapter because that would require effort, and during summer break effort is not something I like to give. So  
  
RACHEL IS SIX, NOT EIGHT. I CHANGED THAT!!!  
  
I'm hoping that the big letters help the people who look at the story, but skip the A/N still get the change. Thanks to all of my reviewers. If it weren't for you, I may have already stopped. Now, for the story.  
  
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Rachel slept through most of the next day too. After running for a day straight, anyone would be that tired. Piper ran around the house, trying to get everything ready for when Rachel woke up. The sofas were vacuumed, the pillows were fluffed, and Piper was pouring candy into bowls. "Piper, I think you're over doing things a little. She's been here before, in fact she's upstairs now. And we know for a fact that she likes us just as we are; with out making sure that there is candy in every nook and cranny." Leo said, taking a bag of Jolly Ranchers from Pipers hands.  
  
"I dunno Leo, it just feels different today. Like I have to impress her or something."  
  
"I should have told you about my plans after she had gone."  
  
"No, you told me at a perfect time. Today I was thinking that we could see if we could get it done before school starts."  
  
Leo questioned, "Why?"  
  
"If she stays with Kara, she'll start at a different school. Paige said that we were already half way through, and I don't want her to switch schools two months into the year, or even half way through the year. And commuting her there everyday could also present a problem, with us being so charmed and all."  
  
"I don't know if we can, it took us two months to even be candidates."  
  
"Leo, we got to try something."  
  
"We got to ask Paige. Commuting, or car pools or something like that may be our only way."  
  
"I got it. Could you watch Rachel while I go and ask Paige?"  
  
"Gladly."  
  
"And, while I do the sound check at P3?"  
  
"Do you need help with that?"  
  
"No, I just need you to stay here."  
  
"I most certainly will be here. And if the elders want me, I'll call Paige."  
  
"Cheater."  
  
"But you love me still."  
  
"You're right."  
  
"Now go, the sooner you leave, the sooner you're done talking with Paige, and lessen the chance of being late for the sound check."  
  
"Thanks." Piper picked up her keys, gave Leo a quick kiss, then left. Leo looked around the empty room, unsure of what to do next. He took a Jolly Rancher out of the bag, and sat on the chair, to stare off into space.  
  
Piper knocked onto Paige's office door. "Come in." Paige's voice rose from inside. Piper slowly opened the door. Piper found a very concentrated Paige, staring at her computer screen, and typing the occasional word.  
  
"Hey." Piper said.  
  
Paige looked up from her work. "Hey."  
  
"Sorry, was I distracting you?"  
  
"God no. A visit from my sister will always take press. And I could really use the break. Have a seat." Paige indicated to the seat on the other side of her desk. "Has Leo found anything yet?"  
  
"He's narrowed it down to about 20 sub species of evil. They all use energy bolts. So, no, not really."  
  
"Too bad. I assume that isn't what you wanted to talk about. Its about Rachel, huh?"  
  
"When did you become the mind reader?" Piper joked.  
  
"Since, um… about the time you walked into the office. We're bird walking here. What can I do for you?"  
  
"Is there any way we can get Rachel before school starts?" Piper quickly asked.  
  
Paige sat back in her chair and thought for a minute. "When does school start?" She asked.  
  
"Two weeks?"  
  
"Wow, that's fast. I don't think I can do it that fast. Of course, you already knowing Rachel, and I know for a fact that she will gladly accept your offer, will speed things up a lot, but still, two weeks is awfully fast."  
  
"Can you try? I don't want to have to transport her every morning. Especially with some of our mornings."  
  
"I'll see what I can do."  
  
"Hey, thanks for doing this Paige."  
  
"What are sisters for?"  
  
"For someone to blame things on." Piper joked.  
  
"Not even funny."  
  
"See, I thought that it was."  
  
"Ha ha. You crack me up."  
  
"I got to go. I need to go set up for tonight." Piper said, she stood up to leave, but Paige stopped her.  
  
"Wait a sec Pipe. As long as you're here, there are a couple of things I need your signature on. I was going to bring them home for you, but you're here now." Paige said. She reached into her desk, and pulled out a small pile of papers. "I don't think that you have worry about reading them. Leo has already signed them."  
  
"As long as I'm here." Piper sighed, taking her seat again. She quickly scanned each page, for anything that might catch her eye, and signed each page. "Now I got to fly, late for a sound check."  
  
"Who is playing?"  
  
"Plain Chocolate. The lead guy was an old friend from high school, had to give them the gig. They're not half bad."  
  
"K, I think I'll come check it out tonght."  
  
"Ok, I could use your help too. One of the bartenders called in sick."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Thanks Paige."  
  
"You owe me big."  
  
"I know, but I've saved your life more."  
  
"Then we're even?"  
  
"Yeah." Piper once again turned to leave, but Paige stopped her again.  
  
"I'll see what I can do for you and Leo." Paige promised. Piper just smiled, and finally left. 


	12. chapter 12

Sorry this chapter is so long. I couldn't figure out how to cut it into two chapters. Again, thanks to reviewers. Please, review again. Wow, I say the word again a lot. Hmm… that is truly odd. Sorry, off on a tangent. Read. Yeah. I mean that's probably why you're at this site, to read the story. Yup. Yup.  
  
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At P3, Piper ran in, to see the band already set up, and everyone sitting around waiting for Piper to come.  
  
"Sorry I'm late. I had to talk to my sister before coming over." Piper said she threw her purse in her office, and addressed the band. "How did you guys get in?" She said, taking a look at things.  
  
"Piper, do you remember how I told you I found out about your club?" Jason, Piper's high school friend, asked.  
  
Piper thought back. "You knew one of the bartenders. That makes sense. That also explains why Adam is not only here on time for a change, but extremely early."  
  
"Actually, I was just sticking around until you got here. I was going to go do some things."  
  
"No you're not. You're here early. Normally you're late. I'm not letting that go. Plus, I'm going to need you're help with the sound check. I don't have Leo today. He's currently babysitting." She said. Piper was distracted with thoughts of Rachel, and was babbling.  
  
"Babysitting?" Adam, and Jason asked, surprised at what they heard.  
  
"Long story, now let's get started. I need to hear the bass first…" Piper said. She started to direct the sound check. Most of the way through, she felt something hit her leg. Piper looked down surprised.  
  
"Hey Rachel!" Piper said, seeing the little girl. "Can you hold on a second guys? Thanks! Where's Leo?" She asked.  
  
"Over here." Leo said, from behind you.  
  
"When did she wake up?"  
  
"'bout an hour ago. She wanted to see you, and you were still here."  
  
"You own this place?" Rachel asked amazed.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Cool."  
  
"I'm glad you like it. I got to do another fifteen minutes here, and then we can go home. K?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"Why don't you go and sit there. I'll get Leo to go and get you paper and some pencils to color with." Rachel nodded, then ran over to the couches. "Leo, when is Kara coming for her?"  
  
"Paige called about twenty minutes ago. We got temporary custody of her."  
  
"How temporary?" She asked.  
  
"Until she's ours for good."  
  
"So it's forever?"  
  
"Not legally."  
  
"Does she know about our plans?"  
  
"I haven't told her."  
  
"Neither have I."  
  
"Do you need help?"  
  
"No, Adam's here."  
  
"Adam? Always late, never on time Adam?"  
  
"The very one."  
  
"Then you are having a good day."  
  
"The best."  
  
"Better go get the paper."  
  
"I'll finish this fast." Piper then turned her attention back to the band. As she promised to Rachel, Piper had the sound check done in less than fifteen minutes and was getting ready to go. She quickly gave some last minute instructions. "Tonight, the club opens at seven. It is now, 6:20. You can practice your sets, or do what ever. Adam, stay here, start them a tab on drinks. And call me if anything comes up!" Piper said. She grabbed her purse, and headed out, with Rachel holding her hand.  
  
When they got home, Phoebe was already waiting for them to return. "My feet hurt Piper." Rachel whined. Piper understood why. She set Rachel down onto a chair, and took of her shoes and socks.  
  
"Oh my!" Piper exclaimed. Rachel's feet were bright red, and were bleeding a little. "Did they hurt while we were at P3?" Rachel nodded. "You should have told me that. I would have carried you instead of letting you walk. Ok? When something hurts, I want you to tell me." Rachel nodded. "Good, because I love you too much to see you hurt like that."  
  
"I love you too." Rachel said. Piper felt like her heart could sing. Rachel had said that she loved her. Things were going great.  
  
"Rachel, do you remember the bad people that hurt you two days ago?" Leo asked. Rachel nodded. "Could you tell me what they look like?"  
  
Rachel thought for a minute, then nodded. "They were tall. Taller than even Leo! And, and they were young. Kinda like tall kids. They kept screaming at me to die. They scareded me. Are they coming back?"  
  
"They might, but we're going to make sure that they won't hurt you."  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"Promise."  
  
"I'm going to see what the elders know. I didn't see them in the book." Leo said.  
  
"Ok." Piper said.  
  
"Where are you going?" Rachel asked.  
  
"Up *there.* That's where all the whitelighters live, and where a lot of other people do too. They help out when the girls have to fight a demon or something." Leo explained.  
  
"What's a whitelighter?" Rachel asked.  
  
"A whitelighter protects good witches. Did you know that I'm a whitelighter?" Leo said.  
  
"You are? But you live here."  
  
Leo took a deep breath to begin to explain, but Piper started first. "Leo, go, I'll handle this twenty question girl." She said, making Rachel laugh. "Leo is a special whitelighter. He is the only one that lives down here. All the others live up there, and that's because he fell in love with me. And the elders made an acceptation."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Come on, what do you want to eat?" Piper asked.  
  
"I want hamburgers." Phoebe said.  
  
"Rachel? Is hamburgers ok?"  
  
"Can I have a cheeseburger instead?"  
  
"Most certainly."  
  
Piper walked into the kitchen. Behind her she heard Phoebe tell a joke to Rachel, who began to laugh hysterically. She smiled to herself. Rachel was going from having no family, to having two parents, two aunts, and maybe an uncle. Cole was sure to propose soon. And they all loved her. Piper heard the phone ring, and with one hand opening the meat, she used the other to pick up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" Piper said.  
  
"Is Piper there?" The voice on the other end said.  
  
"This is she."  
  
"Piper, this is Adam, from the club."  
  
"I know who you are Adam. What's wrong?"  
  
"I lost the key to open up the liquor cabinets."  
  
"Isn't Sarah there yet?"  
  
"She called in sick, remember?"  
  
"That's right. Great. Ok, I'll be right in." Piper said.  
  
"Thanks." She said.  
  
"I'll see you soon Adam."  
  
"Bye." She hung up the phone, then screamed in frustration.  
  
"What's wrong Piper?" Phoebe called.  
  
"Adam is being Adam today. He lost the key to the liquor cabinet, and Sarah is sick. I have to go into the club for a while. I should be back soon." Piper said.  
  
"Bummer."  
  
"Can I go too?" Rachel asked.  
  
"no, because when you were there this afternoon, it was closed and it was ok for little girls to be there. P3 is open now, meaning that if I let you in, I'll be breaking the law. And I don't want to go to jail."  
  
"I don't want you to go to jail. I'll stay here with Phoebe."  
  
"Good. I didn't get the chance to put the burgers on. Don't blow up the kitchen Pheebs."  
  
"Ok! Do you want to help me?" Phoebe asked Rachel.  
  
"Yeah!" She said. Phoebe scooped up the little girl, and carried her into the kitchen, where she was promptly set on a stool. While Rachel wasn't looking, Piper sneaked out of the house.  
  
Piper arrived to a club full of angry customers. She used her key to unlock the cabinet. Because Adam, and Paige were no where to be found, Piper had to serve the customers their drinks. Finally, when the crowds around the bar began to slow down, Paige showed up.  
  
"About time!" Piper said.  
  
"Sorry, I stayed at work longer today because I had to do extra paper work for that custody thing."  
  
"Paige, there are no words in the English language that can express my gratitude for what you did. It meant so much to me."  
  
"But you're not out of the woods yet. They want hearing before you can adopt her for good."  
  
"Small price to pay."  
  
"Large price. Lawyers can be pricey."  
  
"Not when your sister is dating one." Piper said, implying Cole.  
  
"Do you think Cole would do it?"  
  
"I hope so."  
  
"Piper!" Jason called.  
  
"Hey. Sorry about this afternoon. My head wasn't here, and then Rachel showed up. I was looking forward to talking to you. We haven't talked since…"  
  
"The reunion. Three years ago. Sorry to hear about Prue. How are you doing?"  
  
"Ok. It took some time, but I'm ok now. Look at you, a guy with a band. You never wanted anything to do with show biz. What changed your mind?" Piper said.  
  
"I dunno. Someone told me I could sing, and here I am. Lead singer for Plain Chocolate."  
  
"Hey, Piper, what are…" Paige said. "Hi." She said when she saw Jason.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Jason, this is my sister Paige. Paige, the friend I was telling you about. His name is Jason." Piper introduced.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"You wanted something Paige?"  
  
"Yeah, what are you still doing here? Adam has returned. You can go home now. I'm sure Rachel will be thrilled to see you again."  
  
"Who's this Rachel I keep hearing so much about?"  
  
"Leo and I are trying to adopt her. She was the little girl who was here with Leo this afternoon."  
  
"I must say, she's a cutie."  
  
"I agree."  
  
"Go home Piper. We can talk later." Jason encouraged.  
  
"Thanks." Piper said. She slid under the bar and left. Paige and Jason were still talking, as she looked over her shoulder once before she left.  
  
"Piper! Lookie what Phoebe and I made! Men made out of hamburger!" Rachel said, greeting Piper with an odd shaped piece of raw ground hamburger.  
  
"Very cool. But what are you doing standing up. I don't want you walking the rest of today."  
  
"Sorry Piper. I was excited."  
  
"I was excited to see you too. Come on, let's go cook Mr. Hamburger." Piper escorted Rachel into the kitchen. Seeing Phoebe covered with raw meat and flour brought back some child hood memories. She laughed at the sight. "Phoebe, you don't need flour to make hamburger." She said. Phoebe started to laugh, as did Rachel. 


	13. chapter 13

Ok, this chapter is short, but very to the point. Ok, um… enjoy the readings. Review if you like it. Review if you hate it. Review if you can't decide. Ah… just read.  
  
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"Rachel, I need you to go to bed now."  
  
"I'm not tired."  
  
"I know, but you have school soon, and you can't be up at night, and sleep during school, could you go to bed for me?"  
  
"Maybe. Will you read first?"  
  
"Sure. Let's get your pajamas on, and then I'll read some more of Harry Potter."  
  
"Yeah!" Rachel held up her arms to be picked up. Piper scooped her up, and carried her to her bed. But there was already someone on the bed. "Kirsten!! She exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"Hey there kiddo!" Kirsten said back. She went over and gave Rachel a hug.  
  
"Hey Kirsten." Piper said.  
  
"Hi Piper."  
  
"Phoebe said you were gone and, and never coming back. Why are you here?"  
  
"The elders made me a messenger. And the elders sent me to deliver a message."  
  
"What kind of message?"  
  
"One not for you." Kirsten said.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"A message?" Piper asked.  
  
"For you and Leo."  
  
"Well, Leo is talking to the elders, and so…"  
  
"The elders are sending him down for this."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Lets go to the attic for this."  
  
"Rachel, why don't you read some books?"  
  
"Ok Piper." Piper and Kirsten went to the attic, where Leo was waiting for them.  
  
"What's this all about?" He asked.  
  
"They made me a messenger, and I'm doing my job."  
  
"Congratulations. Messengers have a lot of good standing."  
  
"I know, and its great. Anyway, back to this message. I'm going to go get it, and I may not return. Could you do me a favor, and give this to Rachel for me?" Kirsten asked, handing Piper a folded piece of paper. Piper nodded. "Thanks."  
  
"It was good seeing you again Kirsten." Piper said.  
  
"You too." She smiled and orbed out.  
  
"Wait a second! Our message!" Leo called.  
  
"She went to go get it."  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
They didn't wait long before blue orbs began to form. Piper expected Kirsten to materialize, but it was someone else. Someone vaguely familiar. Piper stared at the mystery woman. She had light brown hair, and was only about thirty. "Hello." She said.  
  
"You're Rachel's mother." Piper observed.  
  
"Yes, yes I am. That is why I'm here. I just wanted to say, over the past year, I have watched Rachel through everything. She'll be turning seven in two days, and she has grown up so much since I last saw her in person. Almost two years ago. And I know that your family has made her the happiest. You treat her as if she were your own. Thank you so much for taking care of my baby so well. And if any one was going to become her parents, I'm just glad that it's you two." She said. Piper began to cry, those words were the ones she wanted to hear.  
  
"Thank you." Piper said.  
  
"I need to go, I wasn't allowed to stay long. Just take care of Rachel for me." Rachel's mom said before orbing out. Piper smiled. She had approval from almost everyone, and now she had approval from the one person that would matter the most in the after life. Rachel's mom. The words were still sinking in. Suddenly something hit Piper. Rachel's birthday was in two days.  
  
"Leo! Rachel's birthday! Two days!" Piper exclaimed. 


	14. chapter 14

Another chapter. Hopefully ill have this done before I leave on vacation. That's my goal. Thanks to my loyal reviewers. You guys are so great! Food for the soul… any way. Story Time!!  
  
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"I don't know what to get her!" Piper said. She was beginning to panic. Rachel's birthday was in two days, and she never knew.  
  
"Why don't you ask her?" Leo suggested. He shut the attic door behind him, as the two began to walk down the attic stairs.  
  
"Because I want it to be a total surprise." She said.  
  
"Piper?" Rachel's voice called. Piper went down the stairs a little faster.  
  
"What did the elders say?" She asked.  
  
"Didn't get a chance to finish talking with them." He admitted.  
  
"Then go and finish." Piper encouraged. Leo quickly orbed out. Piper walked into Rachel's room. "What's up sweetie?"  
  
"Where did Kirsten go?"  
  
"She had to go home, but wanted me to give this to you." Piper handed Rachel the paper that Kirsten gave to her. Rachel carefully unfolded it, and saw a drawing of Kirsten hugging Rachel.  
  
"What does it say Piper?"  
  
"Rachel, I wish I could have stayed longer, but I couldn't. I drew this so that you would get an eternal hug from me. Luv ya. Kirsten." Piper said. Rachel smiled, and put the picture on the dresser next to the bed so that she could see the picture.  
  
"Can you read to me now?"  
  
"Most certainly." Piper picked up the book, and began to read. Rachel forgot the fact that she wasn't tired, and began to drift off into her own dream world. Piper finished the chapter she was on, and shut the door.  
  
With her eyes still closed, Rachel asked, "Piper, when will Mrs. Duran be coming to pick me up?"  
  
"Mrs. Duran, and Paige, and a whole lot of other people said that you were allowed to stay here for a while." Piper exclaimed.  
  
"How long?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"I like it here Piper."  
  
"I love having you here."  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too." Rachel smiled, and then fell asleep. Piper turned off the light and left. She went downstairs where she found Phoebe writing her column on the computer. "We have a problem."  
  
"What now?" Phoebe asked. She didn't look up from the screen.  
  
"Rachel's birthday is in two days. And I have no idea what to get her."  
  
"I didn't know it was her birthday."  
  
"Neither did I until about an hour ago."  
  
"How did you find out?"  
  
"Her mom stopped by."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What did she say?"  
  
"She pretty much gave her approval for me and Leo."  
  
"That is big."  
  
"It sure is." Piper stared off into space. "Back to the issue at hand. Any ideas?"  
  
"Take her shopping." Phoebe suggested.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I just thought of this, but what if the three of us take her shopping all day long. She needs clothing, and some other things."  
  
"But that is so standard."  
  
"Then just you take her."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Honestly Piper, I think you need to get your head back on place. Why don't you spend the day with her? Just you."  
  
"Do you think that she'd like that?"  
  
"If it was me, I'd be ecstatic. You should also tell her about your plans then."  
  
"You think that that is a good idea?"  
  
"What a perfect birthday. In my opinion."  
  
"I guess it is."  
  
"Speaking of birthdays, what do you want for yours?"  
  
"You don't have to get me anything Pheebs."  
  
"Yes I do! You have got to be crazy to think that I wouldn't get you anything for your birthday."  
  
"But!" Piper protested.  
  
"Quiet. If you won't tell me, I'll find something. But you will be getting a present from me."  
  
Piper sighed. Phoebe's mind was made up, and nothing could change it. She went to get the books for P3, and sat at the table with Phoebe. She was getting ready to go to bed, when Paige returned home, with a guy.  
  
"Hello." Paige said.  
  
"Hey." Piper said back. "Paige, you brought Jason with you. I didn't know you two hit it off."  
  
"Well we did. And don't worry. Adam kicked us out of the club when it closed, so he came over, and we just plan on talking."  
  
"What ever you do, just keep it down. Remember that there is a six year old sleeping upstairs."  
  
"I promise." Paige took Jason by the hand and lead him into the living room.  
  
"Hey Piper." He said, ass the two passed.  
  
"Hey." She said back.  
  
"Paige, really quick, did you know that Rachel's birthday was in two days?"  
  
"No. Do now though." Paige shrugged her shoulders, ignoring Piper, and concentrating solely on Jason. Piper smiled, and began to pack up her stuff. She headed to bed. The next morning Leo woke Piper up.  
  
"I got some info from the elders." He said.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Some sort of warlock experiment gone wrong. Now they just wander the streets killing kid witches."  
  
"Lovely. Do they look as Rachel said they would?"  
  
"Worse. They're all clones. But essentially yes. They look like very tall eight year olds, standing at seven feet."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"PIPER! LEO! PHOEBE!" Paige urgently called from the downstairs. Piper and Leo looked at each other and ran down the stairs. Phoebe following quickly, pulling a bathrobe over her pajamas. It was the demonic tall kids. Jason stood by watching. Thinking fast, Piper froze the room.  
  
"What are they?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"The warlocks that attacked Rachel the other day." Piper said.  
  
"How much did he see?" Leo asked, pointing to Jason.  
  
"Too much." Paige said.  
  
"Well, while they are still frozen, lock the door. He'll probably freak out and try to run." Piper ordered. Phoebe ran over to the door, locking it. "We need a spell."  
  
"Can't you just blow them up?" Paige asked.  
  
"Honestly, I haven't tried."  
  
"Then, what are you waiting for?" Piper threw up her hands, blowing up tow of the four warlocks.  
  
"Spells people!"  
  
"The power of three shall set you free." Phoebe started, with Piper and Paige quickly jumping in.  
  
"The power of three shall set you free.  
  
The power of three shall set you free." On the third time, the last two warlocks burst into flames, and quickly became a pile of ashes on their floor.  
  
"That was easy." Piper said.  
  
"You're hurt Paige!" Phoebe said, looking at where Paige was bleeding from a cut on the shoulder.  
  
"Would you look at that?" She said. She hadn't felt a thing, because she was so distracted. Leo walked over and healed her shoulder. "Thanks. Unfortunately, before you guys got here, they had time to destroy a lot of the living room." Paige said. The crew went into the living room where several chairs had been exploded, and the coffee table had been knocked over, breaking the legs. "Can you fix this stuff Leo?" Paige asked. Leo surveyed the damage, the thrust his hands over a chair, fixing that. "Jason! He's still frozen!"  
  
"We need to figure out what to do. Do we want to tell him the truth, or dust him?" Piper asked.  
  
"I really like him." Paige said, putting her two cents in.  
  
"Piper how long have you known him?" Leo asked.  
  
"We were really good friends in high school."  
  
"Do you trust him with our secret is the real question."  
  
Piper thought. Trusting Jason, and then him not being trustworthy could turn out disastrous. Her life wasn't the only one on the line. Phoebe, Paige and Leo's were on the line too. Plus, there was Rachel to think about too. She didn't want what happened to Prue to happen all over again. After a long pause, she finally answered. "Yes."  
  
"What happened?" Jason asked when he was unfrozen.  
  
"There is something we need to tell you." Paige said. She took him by the arm, and lead him into the living room.  
  
"This room was just destroyed. How, how, how did it get fixed?" He stuttered.  
  
"Jason, we're good witches." Piper said. There was no point to beating around the bush.  
  
"Witches." He repeated.  
  
"Good witches." Paige corrected.  
  
"We fight evil." Piper added.  
  
"What were those kids I saw in there?"  
  
"Evil demonic children." Piper said.  
  
"That is a funny joke."  
  
"You don't believe us?"  
  
"You should believe them. It's all true!" Rachel said, appearing in the hallway.  
  
"What are you doing out of bed?" Piper asked, rushing over to her.  
  
"I heard Paige call for you guys. I wanted to see what was happening, and I knew that you wouldn't want me there, so I made myself invisible."  
  
"Rachel, sweetie, you shouldn't do that. It makes me worry." Piper said.  
  
"You're a witch too?" Jason asked, looking at the girl. Rachel nodded. "This is crazy! I have no reason to believe you." Paige sighed, then orbed behind Jason. She tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Now do you believe us?" She asked. Jason looked from Paige to Piper. Two women he trusted.  
  
"Yes. I just need time to think this over."  
  
"You can't tell anyone." Phoebe said.  
  
"I have to tell someone!"  
  
"You can't." Piper said. "Someone once found out, and things didn't go well. The only reason I'm standing here is because we turned back time. You can't tell anyone."  
  
"Fine." He grabbed his coat off the hook, and left the house.  
  
"That went well." Phoebe commented.  
  
"No it didn't." Paige said, looking sadly at the door.  
  
"At what point do you want me to dust him?" Leo asked.  
  
"Give him a week. Jason likes to take his time." Piper said. 


	15. chapter 15

WOOHOO!!! Yet another chapter!!!! Just read and review. K. yeah.  
  
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Piper was busy. Today it was Rachel's birthday. Before six in the morning, she was downstairs cooking. Rachel's feet had mostly healed, and she could walk for lengthy periods of time, but at the end of the day, they would be red.  
  
"Piper, I think you're over doing things a little bit." Phoebe said, she looked around at the cinnamon rolls, and the freshly squeezed orange juice on the counter. "It is eight thirty, how long have you been at this?"  
  
"Um… you said seven thirty, um… I guess about an hour and a half."  
  
"She's not up yet!"  
  
"I want everything to be done early, before she wakes up. It's not everyday you turn seven."  
  
"True. Too true. But you need to scale back."  
  
"I haven't even made the cake yet."  
  
"I'll pick up a cake on my way home from work."  
  
"A store bought cake?"  
  
"You and her will be out all day. When will you find time to bake a cake?"  
  
"Good point. Pick one up."  
  
"Will do."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Mmmm, something smells good." Paige said.  
  
"There are some muffins for you guys." Piper indicated to a thing of chocolate muffins on the corner of the counter. Paige eyed the cinnamon rolls, but took a muffin anyway.  
  
"Make the good stuff for her."  
  
"Of course. Will you guys be here tonight?"  
  
"Um… what's tonight?" Phoebe joked. Piper glared at her with a severe look of not funny. "Just joking. I wouldn't miss it."  
  
"I'll be there. If I have to quit to be there…" Paige started.  
  
"Don't quit! If you quit, this all will fall through."  
  
"I won't quit, but I'll threaten." Paige said.  
  
Phoebe looked at the clock, "I got to run. I need to get my column to Eileen, by 9!" Phoebe said, running out the door.  
  
"Heard from Jason yet?" Piper asked.  
  
"No. You trust him right?"  
  
"Yeah. I do. Paige, take this from me, there is only one girl I have ever seen Jason look at like the way he looks at you."  
  
"Really? Who?"  
  
"He had an enormous crush on Prue in high school." Piper said.  
  
Paige laughed. "You're kidding right?"  
  
"No. Paige, he really likes you. I don't think that he would jeopardize you're safety."  
  
"Thanks for the insight Piper. I too must fly." Paige said. She grabbed her purse and left.  
  
"Piper!" Rachel said, she ran into the kitchen where she saw all of the delicious breakfast was. She ran into Piper's arms. "Are you really going to spend all day with me?"  
  
"Of course, it's your birthday!" Piper said.  
  
"Cool." Rachel said.  
  
"Where do you want to go? I planned to spend some time at the mall getting you some clothing for school."  
  
"Wow! New clothing!"  
  
"Where else?"  
  
"Um… anywhere?"  
  
"Yup!"  
  
"Can we go to the movies?" Rachel asked.  
  
"What do you want to see?"  
  
"That one with the horses!"  
  
"OK! Here's the plan then. This morning we'll shop. We'll go to lunch anywhere you want. After lunch we can go see the movie. But we have to be back here by five."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm not telling." Piper teased. "Come on, let's eat some breakfast." Rachel took her time eating breakfast. It was ten before they were in the car. Piper hadn't had so much fun shopping in a long time. She couldn't help but think that Rachel picked out the cutest things. As much fun as she was having, there was this knot in her stomach, and she was preoccupied. Tonight they were going to tell Rachel that they wanted to adopt her. Piper wished that she and Leo didn't have to tell her. She wished that Rachel was hers from birth. Deep inside she had hoped that Rachel knew, so that she wouldn't have to tell her. It was possible that she had over heard her talking to one of her sisters. It is possible. After what she had done the morning before, with the whole turning invisible, it was possible. But Piper also wanted to tell her. To see the excitement on her face, to see how she would react. They ate lunch in Chinatown. After the movie, they went home. It was only four, but with that extra hour, Rachel wanted to put on a fashion show for Leo and Piper of her new wardrobe. Piper heard Phoebe shut the door quietly, trying to sneak into the house with the cake as Rachel was showing off one of her outfits. She looked into the kitchen, where Phoebe was waving to Piper. Silently, Piper hoped that no one else saw her. "I'll be right back, why don't you get your next outfit on?" Piper said, excusing herself. "Did you get it?" Piper asked.  
  
Phoebe opened up the fridge where the cake sat on one of the shelves. "I hope she likes chocolate." Phoebe said.  
  
"Who doesn't?"  
  
"Did you guys have fun?"  
  
"Yeah. She's putting on a fashion show for me and Leo right now of everything she got today. Of course I already saw everything. She did this for me when she tried something on."  
  
"Cute. How's your wallet?" She joked.  
  
"Very slim. And very invisible."  
  
"She didn't"  
  
"Accidentally. But we know it will turn up in my purse soon. They usually turn up in 24 hours."  
  
"Where are we going tonight?"  
  
"I don't know yet."  
  
"Piper! She's back!" Leo called.  
  
"Let's go see what she's wearing now." Piper said, dragging her sister into the living room. She was wearing a pair of slightly flared blue jeans with a glittery butterfly on the bottom, and a baby blue top with a care bear on it.  
  
"I like that one!" Phoebe said. When Paige got home a little before five, they left for the restaurant. Rachel had picked a Mexican place not far from their house. After dinner they decided to give Rachel her gifts.  
  
"Here you go Rachel." Phoebe said, handing her a small wrapped gift. "This is from me and Cole, who you have yet to meet." Rachel smiled. She opened the present, careful not to make a mess. It was a small charms bracelet with a few charms.  
  
"Wow. It is so pretty and cool." Rachel remarked.  
  
"Happy birthday Rachel." Phoebe said.  
  
"Now this one is from me." Paige said. She handed Rachel a box.  
  
"Cool! Roller blades."  
  
"And to go with roller blades, a helmet and some protective gear!" Paige handed Rachel a second box.  
  
"Sure show us up one." Phoebe whispered to Paige.  
  
"Didn't. You bought the pads. I borrowed some cash to get those."  
  
"Rachel, those pads are from me too!" Phoebe added.  
  
"Thanks guys!" Rachel got up and hugged them tightly.  
  
"Now us. Rachel, our gift doesn't come in a box. Well, it kinda did. All that shopping was part of it. But Rachel, we've been doing some thinking. And we were wondering if it would be ok if we adopt you." Piper said.  
  
Rachel's eyes grew really wide. "Really!?!?!" She squealed.  
  
"Really." Leo said.  
  
"I'd love that more than anything!!!!!!!!" Rachel said. She ran over to Piper and Leo and jumped into their arms.  
  
"Now, who showed who up?" Paige asked Phoebe. They smiled, as the happy to be family hugged. Rachel talked all the way home. After a point no one was really listening. Just smiling and nodding. But it didn't matter to Rachel. She was too excited.  
  
"Come on, bed you." Piper said.  
  
"Will you read again?"  
  
"How mad would you be if I said no?"  
  
"Not at all!"  
  
"It doesn't matter. I'd be glad to read to you." Just as the past three nights, Piper read to Rachel. This time, Leo joined them. Picking up the story half way through it.  
  
"Piper, Leo?" Rachel asked as they left the room. "Can I call you Mommy and Daddy?"  
  
"Only if you want to." Piper said. She clicked off the light, shut the door, she took one last look at Rachel, then looked at Leo. Piper practically screamed with excitement, but no sound came out. Instead she just began to weep. Leo kissed her sweet head. "We finally have a family." She whispered. 


	16. chapter 16

Hey! I finally was able to get past that terrible thing called writers block and finish this chapter! Everybody go YEA!!! Anyway, I am thinking about writing a sequel to this, but not sure if I will. Tell me if you want to see more by leaving it in your review, or emailing me at charmedgal005@yahoo.com. Ok story now.  
  
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"Leo! Rachel was wrong about when school started!" Piper said the next day.  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
  
"I went to the school to register her today, and they said that they would see her Monday. Rachel starts school a week earlier than I had thought!"  
  
"Calm down Piper!"  
  
"How can I there is so much to do!"  
  
"Shh… its ok. The hard part is over."  
  
"Leo, we have to get all her school supplies in two days. And stores, this close to start, well, they tend to run out of things."  
  
"Piper don't worry. The hard parts are over."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Rachel is here, and she's registered for school."  
  
"I guess you're right."  
  
"Just take her shopping."  
  
"Ok." Piper said. She called up the stairs asking for Rachel to come down the stairs. Rachel came down the stairs. When Piper told her that school started earlier, Rachel looked like she had mixed feelings about school.  
  
"Rachel, where's your backpack?" Piper asked. It was Rachel's first day of school, and things were a mess. There was a demon attack the night before, and Phoebe was still trying to figure out who they vanquished. Leo was up there seeing if the elders knew if there was more to come. Paige had to be at work early, leaving Piper to help Rachel alone. Rachel jumped up from her spot at the table to go get it. She returned not ten seconds later, with out it.  
  
"I put it in the foyer. But now it's not there." She said.  
  
"It probably got moved after last night. Finish your breakfast, and I'll go look for it." Piper said. She went into the foyer, where she was right. The backpack had slid nicely under a couch. She reached down to go get it, but it was slightly out of reach. She looked around to find something that was long enough to extend grasp. "Ah ha!" She picked up an umbrella, and used it to hook the hanger. She pulled it out. And stood up.  
  
"How clean is the floor today?" Phoebe joked. Piper spun around.  
  
"Surprisingly. Did you find anything?"  
  
"Yes. He works alone."  
  
"Thank god! I'm not in a demon fighting mood."  
  
"Then how about one to tell me what you want for your birthday tomorrow?"  
  
"Nope! Because I don't want anything!"  
  
"Please Piper?" Phoebe begged. "I really want to get you something."  
  
"No. Rachel, hurry up, we have to go in two minutes."  
  
"Ok." Rachel shoved the last of her cereal into her mouth, and threw the bowl into the sink. "Ready!" She said. She went and got her backpack from Piper.  
  
"See you later Pheebes." Piper said. She and Rachel went out the door. "Got everything sweetheart?"  
  
"Ya huh." The two got into the car.  
  
"We're here Rachel!" Piper said.  
  
"Do you think the kids will make fun of me?"  
  
"Rachel, we talked about this. I think they will, but know in your heart that being older, you get to do more sooner. And as long as you don't use magic, you'll be ok."  
  
"K."  
  
"Come on, we got to go to the office before school starts?"  
  
"Why Mommy?"  
  
"Because we don't know who your teacher will be."  
  
"K." Piper and Rachel walked confidently into the building. Piper looked around. This was where she had gone to elementary school. Being back brought back some memories.  
  
"Hi, I'm Piper Wyatt. I registered my daughter Rachel Colt here last week." Piper told the secretary. The secretary turned around and looked at Piper.  
  
"You're a Halliwell, aren't you?" The old secretary asked. Piper was taken back, she was not expecting the secretary to recognize her.  
  
"Uh… yeah."  
  
"Thought so. I remember when you first came here."  
  
"You've been here that long, wow."  
  
"Now what can I do for you?"  
  
"Last week I registered my daughter Rachel Colt, and wanted to know what was left." The secretary reached into a filing cabinet, and pulled out a file.  
  
"It is really simple. There are a few forms that you need to fill out, and I'll have Rachel's teacher come and get her."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Just a second." The secretary picked up the phone. "Mrs. Myers…" She said. Piper turned to Rachel.  
  
"Hey, you ready?" Rachel nodded. "Good. Paige will pick you up out by the flag pole today after school."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I have to wait for a delivery at the club, and she volunteered."  
  
"K."  
  
"Hi there. You must be Rachel. I'm your teacher Mrs. Myers." A voice said, from behind them. Piper and Rachel turned.  
  
"Hi." Rachel replied shyly.  
  
"Go on, I'll see you later." Piper encouraged.  
  
"K."  
  
"Bye." Rachel and her teacher left. Piper turned around and began to sign papers that the secretary had placed on the counter.  
  
"Its hard seeing them grow up like that." The secretary said.  
  
Piper honestly felt she couldn't relate. She had only known Rachel for a couple of months, but she had to say something. "Uh yeah. Is that all the papers?"  
  
"Yes. Um… with one side note. The principal likes to meet with all parents with children new to the school. You and your husband fit that. Um… just need you to arrange a time."  
  
"When do you have slots?"  
  
"There is one next Monday, at noon." She said. Piper thought to her mental organizer.  
  
"That works."  
  
"Don't you need to check with your husband first?"  
  
"He's got a very flexible schedule"  
  
"I look forward to seeing you again Mrs. Colt."  
  
"Actually, it's Wyatt." Piper corrected.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"It's ok." Piper left.  
  
"Paige, I need those papers you had on…" One of Paige's coworkers said. She stopped when she saw Paige putting on her jacket and grabbing her purse. "Going somewhere?"  
  
"I have to pick up my niece from school, and then we get to go shopping for Piper's birthday." Paige said. "So yeah I'm going somewhere.\."  
  
"I didn't know you had a niece."  
  
"Do now. If you will excuse me, I am going to be late."  
  
"I need those papers."  
  
"Oh right," Paige turned around, she reached into her desk, and pulled out the files. "Here you go." She said handing it to her coworker.  
  
"Thanks. Have fun."  
  
"I will." Paige pulled up to the school yard, and saw Rachel hugging the flag pole. Paige stepped out of her car. Rachel saw Paige, and ran up to her.  
  
"Aunt Paige!" Rachel said.  
  
"Hey kiddo! You ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah." Rachel jumped into the car.  
  
"How was school?" Paige asked.  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Just ok?"  
  
"Yeah." Rachel said. By the way that Rachel was stairing out the window, Paige could tell that Rachel did not want to talk about it. "Where are we going? This isn't the way home." Rachel observed.  
  
"We have to pick up Phoebe first."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Do you mind if we go to the mall, and try to find something to Piper for her birthday?" Rachel looked at Paige.  
  
"When is her birthday?"  
  
"Tomorrow, and I didn't think you had gotten her anything."  
  
"Idon'thaveanymoney." Rachel murmured.  
  
"Say again?"  
  
"I don't have any money."  
  
"That is ok. It won't matter. Besides, I'll help you out there."  
  
"Thank you Aunt Paige!" Rachel said. From the girl that was staring gloomily out the window, Rachel quickly turned her attitude around, and began to chat happily about school, and what a nice teacher she had. Paige noted that Rachel never once mentioned the other kids, good or bad.  
  
"Aunt Phoebe!" Rachel said, allowing herself into Phoebe's office. She didn't see that Phoebe was talking to a man at her desk. "Oh sorry." She said, going out.  
  
"Rachel, wait!" Phoebe said. The man turned around. "Come here." Phoebe pointed to her lap. Rachel jumped up. "I want to introduce to you Cole." Phoebe said.  
  
"You're Cole?" Rachel said.  
  
"I am." He said.  
  
"Thank you for the bracelet."  
  
"You're very welcome."  
  
"Sorry about that Phoebe, she… ran. Oh, hey Cole. When did you get back?" Paige asked, as she came into Phoebe's office.  
  
"Earlier today."  
  
"You ready Pheebes?" Paige asked.  
  
"Yeah, I just need to get this column in. You gonna come with us baby?" Phoebe said, she sent her column to print.  
  
"I think I need to unpack. I haven't been home for almost two weeks. Lots of laundry."  
  
"Ok, we'll see you at home." Phoebe grabbed her coat, gave Cole a quick kiss, then grabbed her column. After making a quick stop to drop off her printout, the three were on their way.  
  
"Any ideas what to get her?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"She insisted nothing. So lucky me, I accidentally broke her toaster, so I am lucky enough to replace it." Paige said.  
  
"No fair! I want to break something."  
  
"For the record, I didn't mean to. The bagel was stuck, and I turned the toaster upside down to get it out, and dropped it."  
  
"I want to get her flowers." Rachel said.  
  
"There is a flower shop there." Paige said.  
  
"Not those kind. The ones that hang."  
  
"I think she'd love that."  
  
"That still leaves me." Phoebe said. "And I want it to be special."  
  
"You always say that." Paige pointed out.  
  
"And when in the past, it wasn't special, she trashed it."  
  
"Will she trash mine?" Rachel feebly asked.  
  
"No, no, no, no, definitely not, no." Phoebe reassured.  
  
"Good." They walked through the mall, looking for the perfect thing to get Piper. They passed a store with something that caught Phoebe's eye.  
  
"Hold on second guys, I found it." She said, stepping into the store.  
  
"Aunt Paige, look! Puppies!" Rachel said, pressing her nose against the window at the pet store. Rachel and Paige went into the store to see the other animals. Phoebe got out of the store and didn't see them. She looked at the stores around it, and saw the pet store, and found them.  
  
"What do you think?" Phoebe asked, showing them her purchase. "I'm going to add a few things, you know, personalize it a bit."  
  
"I think it is perfect." Paige said.  
  
"She'll like it." Rachel agreed.  
  
The three smiled. After finding Rachel's plants at a shop near the mall, they headed home, hoping that they had beaten Piper home. No such luck. They pulled into the driveway to see Piper's car already parked.  
  
"What do we do?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"Leave them here. I'll call for them in my room." Paige said.  
  
Rachel got out of the car, and ran for the front door. "I'm home!" She called. Piper came in.  
  
"Hey sweetie, how was school today?"  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Good. What do you want to have for dinner?"  
  
"Glop!" Rachel said. Piper smiled. Nice and easy. That worked well. She got out the vegetable soup, and the beef and began to cook the easy dinner.  
  
"Pipe, I got some papers for you to look over." Paige said, after dinner.  
  
"What about?"  
  
"Just some things for the adoption."  
  
"Then sure. Have you heard of any new bands that are good? I need to get a booking in a month, and am having problems finding one."  
  
"I can get Jason to play." Paige said.  
  
"They recently played, I couldn't ask them to do it so soon."  
  
"I'm sure they won't mind. Now sign. Piper, just a couple of months left."  
  
"Thanks." 


	17. chapter 17

YEAH!!!!! I'm thinking that there is only one chapter left. Maybe two at the most, but I'm seriously thinking about a squeal. It should be a good one… tell me what you think by leaving it in your review, or emailing me at charmedgal005@yahoo.com. Cuz if I don't get people saying that they want to see Rachel in a future fic, all grown up and stuff, then why waste time? Yeah. Um… read now.  
  
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"Happy Birthday Mommy!" Rachel said, the next morning, waking Piper up by jumping onto her bed.  
  
"Thank you Rachel."  
  
"You're welcome. Daddy is bringing breakfast." She said, crawling under the covers.  
  
"He is, is he?" Piper said, she leaned over and began to tickle Rachel. Rachel began to laugh hysterically. Rachel crawled deeper under the covers trying to hide, but Piper moved closer. Leo showed up at the door. He looked at Piper mischievously, set the tray quietly on the desk, and tiptoed to the other side of the bed. He they attacked Rachel, went sent her into deeper laughter.  
  
"What is going on in here?" Phoebe said, stumbling to the door.  
  
"They're tickling me!" Rachel explained from under the covers.  
  
"Ok Rachel enough of this, you got to get ready for school." Piper said, throwing the covers off the bed.  
  
"Do I have to?"  
  
"Yep, other wise, someone will get very mad, and make you leave."  
  
"Ok." Rachel said, leaving.  
  
"Happy Birthday Sis." Phoebe said.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Yeah, Happy Birthday." Leo said, leaning over and kissing her.  
  
"Can it be my birthday everyday?" She asked, this time kissing him.  
  
"No, because your kitchen will be destroyed."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"The toaster broke."  
  
"Mmmm… I'll deal with that later." Piper said, between kisses.  
  
"Um… guys?" Phoebe said. She pointed down, where Rachel was watching.  
  
"Hey. Come on, let's get you some breakfast." Leo said, swooping up the girl under one arm, and caring her down the stairs, giggling the entire way.  
  
"What are you going to do today?" Phoebe asked, taking the vacant spot in the bed.  
  
"Unfortunately, work. It's inventory time." Phoebe groaned. "Hey, groaning is my job, not yours. Besides, you got your own work now. Last time you didn't, that is why I recruited you."  
  
"Hey Piper! Happy Birthday!" Paige said, coming into the room.  
  
"Wow, everyone up now. I'm impressed. Paige, can you get me that tray over there? I need to eat and be presentable to get Rachel to school."  
  
"Not everyone, Cole isn't up yet. Then again, he doesn't have to go to work for the next week. After being gone for a month, and then gone for weeks, the past couple of months, they gave him a lot of comp time. Sorry, I'll take her over." Phoebe volunteered. "You guys didn't need to hear that about Cole."  
  
"No. Thanks Pheebs." Piper said.  
  
"Rest, we will do everything today." Paige said.  
  
"You'll do my inventory?"  
  
"Is it that time?" Paige asked. "Because you got to be crazy to try to enlist me to do that. Last time, you made me count the number of straws you had, twice! Not my idea of fun."  
  
"Mine either, but I have to do it. I'll pick her up." Piper told Phoebe.  
  
"We got work. We'll see you later Piper." Piper had a good day, despite the dreaded inventory. That night at dinner, everyone gave Piper their presents. Paige gave Piper a new toaster, confessing that she was the one that broke the old one.  
  
"With you not helping me at all, I came up with this ingenious idea. I hope you like it." Phoebe said. She placed her present in front of Piper. Piper looked intrigued and opened it. She found a beautiful leather photo album. Phoebe had taken a leather burner and burned the triquetra on the cover  
  
"Wow. This is amazing Phoebe." Piper said, she went over and hugged her sister.  
  
"I got you this!" Rachel said, shoving her gift under Piper's hands. Piper looked at the unwrapped gift. [It is really hard to wrap flowers, believe me, I've tried]  
  
"How did you know that these were my favorites?" Piper said.  
  
"Phoebe told me."  
  
"Ah. That is why you guys got home so late yesterday." Piper said.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"And this one is from me." Leo said. He pulled out a little something from behind his back. "I only got help, from someone not here." Leo said.  
  
"Oh…" Piper said, as she opened it. There was a pair of diamond earrings. "These are, wow, um… who did you get help from?"  
  
"Can't say."  
  
"Thank you." Piper gave Leo a kiss. "Ok, as much as I was dreading turning 32, because that means getting old, you guys have made it all worth it." Piper smiled at her family.  
  
"Leo, we got to go. We're going to be late!" Piper said, the next Monday. It was time for the appointment with the principal at Rachel's school.  
  
"I don't see why this is even necessary." He said.  
  
"The principal meets with all parents with kids new to the school. We're included in that census. And if he wasn't going to do this, I would have made an appointment anyway."  
  
"Why? What do we have to talk to him about?"  
  
"Um… considering half way through the year, Rachel will become ours officially, I think that, that is something worth informing the school about, ourselves."  
  
"But that's not normal."  
  
"Leo, we're not normal. And I would love to be, but I've faced the facts, we're not normal."  
  
"Ok, let's go." Piper and Leo got out of the car, once they were at school. Piper looked down the hill, watching the kids play during recess.  
  
"Mrs. Wyatt! I couldn't wait for you to come! I was just remembering the funniest thing from when you were here." The secretary said.  
  
"Hi. As much as I'd like to spend time listening to you tell me stories about when my sisters and I were here, I need to get this meeting over with." Piper said. She tried to be nice without being rude.  
  
"It will be just a minute." The secretary said.  
  
"An old friend?" Leo asked, as they took a seat in some chairs.  
  
"Secretary when I went here. And Phoebe was accident prone, so while playing on the playground would often end up here, and ask for me. Came to know the office people well." Piper explained.  
  
"Ah."  
  
"He's ready for you now." Piper and Leo went into the office.  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt. I'm Dr. Foster. I was looking for your daughter's file just a second ago, and I had difficulties finding it." Dr. Foster said.  
  
"Look under Colt." Piper said. Dr. Foster went over to his filing cabinets, and pulled out a file. For the majority of the meeting, the principal went over the school, explaining how parents could get involved and other stuff.  
  
"Any questions, I can answer?"  
  
"Not a question, but something." Piper said.  
  
"You haven't had a chance to look at Rachel's file obviously, because you couldn't find it, but you will notice that she wasn't in school for a year, and that she was in foster care." Dr. Foster opened up the folder and noticed that what Piper said was indeed true.  
  
"I see that, are you guys her foster parents?" He asked.  
  
"Actually, we're in the process of adopting her. Hopefully before winter break the paper work will be completed."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"We just wanted to let you know." Leo said.  
  
"Well, thank you for telling me."  
  
"Is that all?" Dr. Foster asked.  
  
"One last question, how much do your school lunches cost?" Piper asked. 


	18. chapter 18

YEAH!!  Ok so I lied about the whole one more chapter thing.  I think now that there may only be one chapter, and then maybe an epilog.  And I also wanted to remind people that I have no idea about the legal system.  For goodness sakes I'm only a teenager, and my legal experience is tickets (oops.)  and the shows on TV  so for the most part, that is all made up to fit the story.  SORRY FOR MY INACCURACY.  

I DO WANT TO KNOW IF PEOPLE WANT TO SEE A SEQUAL.  YOU KNOW JUST ONE, AND RACHEL WILL BE LIKE 16, THE STORY IS ALL PLANNED OUT.  I WOULD JUST LIKE TO HAVE TWO MORE PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY WANT IT!!!!  JUST LEAVE IT IN YOUR REVIEW!!!

Sorry, figured more people would read that if I stuck in caps.  What do you say?  Do you want to see Rachel as a teenager?  If you don't, say that you do because I'm sure that there is someone out there who is too chicken to say so.  Come on… I  know you wanna… anyway… read time

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The next few months flew by.  Rachel quickly became one of the smartest kids in her class, and after the first few weeks, was rarely teased about being older than all the other kids.  She made friends easily, and often she spent time at their houses.  Piper hated the fact that Rachel was always at their houses, and rarely had friends at the manor, but she knew it was for the best.  If a demon attacked, she didn't want to have to worry about a powerless six year old that knew nothing of magic.  But as the weeks past, Piper quickly realized that the demonic attacks were getting fewer and fewer.  Something she wasn't sure she was comfortable with.  Fewer attacks could mean that the activity was high down there, and that the demons were planning a major attack.  But both Cole and Leo eased her fears, telling her that there didn't appear to be any thing going on.  Appear was the key word.  

            "Just check for me again.  Please Leo?"  Piper begged, she really wanted to know why the attacks were getting fewer.  It just didn't feel right.

            "I just checked two days ago!"

            "But there hasn't been an attack in a month."

            "Isn't that a good thing?"

            "It doesn't feel right."

            "Will it make you feel better?"

            "Yes."

            "Fine.  I'll be back with the same thing that I did two days ago."

            "Good enough."  Piper said.  She kissed Leo, and he orbed out.  Piper looked around the now empty house.  Phoebe, Cole, and Paige were at work.  Rachel was at school, and she had just sent Leo to talk to the elders.  She didn't have to be at the club at all that night, so all she had to do was hang around and catch up on things around the house.  She only had to make sure that Rachel got picked up from school.  Piper looked around again, then went upstairs to begin to do laundry.  Every fifteen minutes Piper would look over at a clock, hoping that it was 2:30.  When it finally was time to go and get Rachel, Piper closed her computer, and left.  She waited on the top of the hill, waiting for Rachel to come running over it.  There were other parents sitting on the hoods of their cars too.  Piper often had the urge to go over and talk to them.  Everyday it was the same people, in the same order.  The faces were familiar.  When they saw each other in a super market, they would politely smile, and continue on.  

            "Mom!"  Rachel called out, as she did everyday.  Piper was pulled out of her reverie.  Rachel came running over the hill, only today she wasn't alone.  There was another little girl running beside her.  "Mom, can Kelly come over today?"  She asked, stopping in front of the car.  Piper thought.  The demonic activity was getting smaller, and there wasn't anything else holding her back.

            "Did you ask her mom?" Piper said.

            "No," Rachel sheepishly said.

            "Well then, let's go ask together.  Kelly, where is your mom parked?"  Piper asked.  She leaned over and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Kelly, a quiet girl, pointed to an area on the other end of the parking lot.  Piper took Rachel's hand, and Kelly stood beside Rachel, as the three walked across the play ground.  Kelly stopped in front of a car, where a young woman sat in the driver's seat.  "Are you Kelly's mother?" Piper asked, suddenly feeling old.

            "Yes.  My name is Samantha Williams." She said.  Noticing another woman's presence, she quickly got out of the car.  Piper noticed that she was not as young as she looked.  

            "I'm Piper Wyatt. My daughter Rachel wanted to know if it was ok if Kelly could come over and play for a couple of hours."

            Samantha turned to her daughter, "Kel, do you have any homework?"  She asked.  Kelly shook her head.  Samantha held out her hand, and Kelly handed Samantha her empty backpack.  "Is it all right with you?"  Samantha said, turning to Piper.

            "Yeah, it's fine with me."

            "Ok, I'll pick her up at six, is that ok?"

            "Sounds good."  Piper was liking this.

            "Bye Kelly, I'll see you soon."  Kelly stood on her tippy toes, and gave her mother a hug.  She then went over to Rachel.  She waved as they went back over to Piper's car.  

            "Do you guys want anything for snack?"  Piper asked when they got home.

            "Nope!"  Rachel said.  Kelly shook her head no.

            "Ok, well, what do you guys want to do?"

            "Can we play in my room?"  Rachel asked.  When Piper realized that Rachel was going to be there for a very long time, she decided to turn the guest room into Rachel's room.  They went out and bought her bunk beds, and other niceties for a six year old.

            "Yeah sure.  I'm going to be in my office working if you need me."  Piper said.

            "K!"  Rachel said, she ran up the stairs, with Kelly following close.  Piper watched them run, and then turned to her computer.  

            "Hey sweetie!"  Leo said, orbing in.

            "LEO!  What are you doing?  You should have waited.  Rachel's got a friend here."  Piper said.

            "Don't worry, I checked first.  They are both playing in Rachel's room, which means they cant see you in the office.

            "Just wait, or orb in the garage next time."  Piper said.

            "Ok.  I got good news for you."

            "What did they say?  Was I right?"

            "If you were right, then I would have bad news.  But, for the record, neither of us were right.  The demons just have a different target."  Leo said.

            "Different target?"

            "Apparently, there is an extra powerful witch somewhere back east.  Making you less desirable targets."

            "That is excellent news.  See, I was right, in a sense.  You did come back with new news.  Now, why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

            "They just now told me."

            "I wish they would tell you these things earlier."

            "Me too."

            "This calls for a celebration, we should go out tonight."  Piper decided.

            "I like that idea."

            "Good, because you are going to call Phoebe and Paige, tell them the good news, and tell them about dinner.  And tell Phoebe that obviously Cole can come."

            "And what about Jason?"  Leo asked.  After he found out the truth, Jason decided to stick around, and he and Paige were still dating.

            "Of course!  With as steady as those two are going…"  Piper's voice began to trail off.  She looked at her computer where she just got an email.  Her eyes grew, and she raced over to where the computer was.  "YES!"  She screamed after she opened it.

            "What?"  Leo asked.

            "This has been a good day.  First your news, then I scored Matchbox 20!  They'll be at P3 next month!  Even though they are getting old, I'll still get a big crowd." Piper said.  She went over to Leo, and gave him a big kiss.

            "Ohh… you should have good days more often."  He said.

            "Go call.  I got to make more arrangements with the manager.  Go." Piper said, pushing Leo out the door.

            "PIPER!!!"  Phoebe said, when she came home an hour later.  She was bursting with excitement.  "This is too cool.  It's what we've always wanted."  She said, running into the office.

            "I know.  I almost didn't believe Leo at first.  But just one look and I could see that he wasn't joking.  I feel sorry for this other one.  The burden is on her, rather than on us.  If she doesn't make it, they're back to us. And we were three, in a kind of support system.  According to Leo, she's just one."  Phoebe and Piper continued to talk for a while.  When Cole got home, he joined in too, adding his opinion from an ex-demon stand point.  When the door bell rang a while later Piper looked up at the clock.  A couple minutes before six.  She then looked at the response to the Matchbox 20 manger she had started almost an hour before.  "Could you get that for me Pheebs?  It's probably Kelly's mom."  Phoebe looked at Piper oddly, then went to get the door.

            "I'm sorry, do I have the wrong house?"  Samantha asked.  She checked the house number.  Samantha was expecting for Piper to answer the door.

            "Depends on who you are looking for."  Phoebe said.

            "My daughter Kelly."

            "You might.  Was she playing with Rachel?"

            "Yeah."

            "Then you're at the right house."  Phoebe said, she ushered Samantha in, and closed the door behind her.

"You're not Piper."  Samantha commented.

            "No, no, I'm not.  Actually, I'm Piper's sister Phoebe."  Phoebe extended her hand for Samantha to shake.  Samantha took it.

            "Samantha.  I'm Kelly's mom."

            "Oh hey, um I think they are up in Rachel's room."

            "Ok, is Piper here, I need to talk to her a second."

            "Yeah, she's in there."  Phoebe said, pointing to the office.  Samantha nodded, and followed Phoebe's point.  Phoebe ran up the stairs to get Kelly and Rachel.  Only a few seconds later they were all in the office.

            "We better be going.  I'll talk to later Piper."  Samantha said, taking Kelly's hand.

            "Sounds good.  Bye Kelly." Piper said.

            "Bye Kelly!!!"  Rachel said, waving and Samantha and Kelly.

            "Rachel, go get changed for a nice dinner."  Piper instructed.  

            "Me too?"  Phoebe said.

            "Please, like you're not dressed up now."  Piper joked.  

            "When are we going?"  Cole asked.

            "Where are we going?"  Phoebe asked.

            "Ahh!  One question at a time.  As soon as Paige gets here with Jason, we will be going to that new one by the club.  Leo called ahead and got us reservations."

            Phoebe clapped her hands, and ran up the stairs.  Cole smiled, and quickly followed his wife.  (They had gotten married not long after Piper's birthday. A short engagement.  A small wedding).  Paige came in with Jason laughing.  Piper came into the foyer to greet them.  "Hey."  She said.

            "Hey, when are we leaving?"  Paige asked.

            "When they are ready to go."  Piper said.  

            "You're going in that?"  Paige asked, pointing to Piper's outfit.  Piper looked down at what she was wearing.

            "Ohhhh no, no, no, no.  I'll be right back."  Piper ran up the stairs.

            "That's cute."  Jason commented.  "Taking care of everyone else that you forget about yourself.  You know, I'm like that."  Jason lied, and Paige knew it.  She gave him a playful slap, then leaned in close and gave him a kiss.  Rachel came running down the stairs.

            "Auntie Paige, why are we going to dinner?"  She asked.

            "Ah. We have much to celebrate."

            "Like what?"

            "Demons are going after someone else now, and not us.  That is what we are celebrating."

            "Cool."

            "Way cool."

            Diner was an enjoyable affair.  With so much to celebrate, no one had anything to complain about.  When they got back to the manor after wards, Paige pulled Piper and Leo aside.  They had just put Rachel to bed, and were about to go to bed themselves.

            "Ok, you guys know how the biggest thing holding the adoption back, was the search for her dad?"  Paige asked.

            "Yeah."  Piper said.

            "No."  Leo said.

            "Well, you do now.  Anyway, we have been looking for almost three months, which is our give up point.  Meaning, there is just a lot more paper to sign, and a meeting with a judge, and it will be official.  Of course, if the dad shows up, he's allowed to a hearing to gain custody.  But those are rare, and the adoptive parents usually win.  There are like two cases of like 100 where they don't."  Paige said, she looked over at Piper and Leo.  Piper couldn't say anything.  Instead, she just went over and hugged Paige.  Jason looked on holding back a laugh.  Paige had this look of total confusion, and that she wanted to push Piper off. Piper meanwhile was crying.  The words to express her gratitude just didn't exist.  Leo was also standing in a corner, with a few tears escaping down his cheek. 

            "Thank you Paige."  Piper whispered.

            "Oh, anything for my sister."  Paige replied.  "I still need you guys to come in soon and sign all those papers, and set a court date."  

            "When?"

            "Piper, we'll deal with this tomorrow.  Ok?"

            "Yeah.  Tomorrow."  Piper said, she absentmindedly walked up the stairs, with Leo following her.


	19. chapter 19

YEAH!!! THE LAST CHAPTER! Thanks to all of the people who have been reviewing this all along.  You guys are great.  Ok,  I am still thinking about the sequel. Tell me what you think… ok… no more of this crap.   

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            The next morning after they dropped Rachel off at school, Piper and Leo drove to social services, where Paige was waiting their visit.  She had the papers all ready out on her desk.  

            "Hey."  Piper said, taking a seat across from Paige.

            "Hey.  You guys ready?" Paige asked.

            "Paige,"  Piper said.

            "Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Ok, sign all of these.  And pick one of these dates for the hearing."  Paige said.

            "Hearing?"  Leo asked.

            "Yeah, do you have a problem with that?"  Paige asked.

            Leo shut the door, and shut the blinds.  There are some things that could easily be smoothed over.  Talking about this was one of them, but the risk of exposure was just too high.  And if they were exposed, getting Rachel would definitely hit a ditch. "Kinda.  I'm technically dead.  Remember?"

            "Leo, you have been forgetting, that we tweaked your name for all this.  You're Leo Wyatt III."  Piper reminded.  "We've only been at this for I don't know six months, and then for all that other official stuff, like your passport, you are Leo Wyatt III."

            "I just get antsy around the law with that."  

            "Leo, Cole is a lawyer, and need I remind you that Darrel is a cop?  I'd say you're in good hands."  Paige said.

            "Hey, I do too, a little.  Never mind."  Piper said, looking up from the papers.

            "What exactly will happen at this hearing?" Leo asked.

            "Nothing really big.  Mostly ask you guys if you are ready for this, and see if its ok with Rachel."

            "That's it?  No arguments?"

            "If there were going to be any, those points would have come up in the process.  And there was only one."

            "There was?"

            "Actually two, but those were easy to smooth over."

            "What were they?"

            "Um… the fact that your name shows up on a lot of witness lists for unsolved crimes.  I just said that the right place at the wrong time.  There were a couple of people, you know normal people who had the same thing.  And then there were the murders in the house."

            "How did you smooth over Prue's death?"  Piper asked, passing the papers to Leo.

            "Those were slightly easier than the first.  Touchier, but easier.  I just said that it was obviously a random crime because there had been no threats for your life since.  And that it was three years ago."  Paige paused.  She loved her sisters very much, but when it came to Prue, they could get really touchy, quiet or even anger some.  Paige knew the feeling.  She felt the same way when someone talked about her parents, or she was forced to talk about them.  She shuttered having to think about involving Piper and Phoebe in the process of defending Prue's murder, and that doctor's murder. "You guys didn't even need to be involved in the whole process."

            "Thanks Paige."            

            "All in a days work.  You done there Leo?"      Paige said, looking over.

            "Just about, there."  Leo said, putting the pen down.

            "Dates.  When is good for you Piper?"

            "As long as it's not the week Matchbox is coming, anytime.  Being your own boss definitely has its rewards."

            "Ok. Leo bad times?"

            "None.  I can get time off just about anytime."

            "Ok.  Sooner the better?"  Paige asked.

            "Sure." Piper said.

            "Ok, I'll call the judge."  Paige said.  She picked up the phone, and dialed the judge's number.  After hanging up, she turned to Piper and Leo.  "There is a time two weeks from now.  Thursday, the 10?"

            Piper thought.  Matchbox was a month away.  Four weeks.  "Yeah. Sounds fine."

            "Wouldn't miss that day for the world." Leo said.

            "Ok, I did try to get a time when Rachel is out of school, but I couldn't.  So you'll have to pull her out of school.  Is that ok?"  Paige asked.  Piper nodded.  "Ok.  It's at 10:30 on that Thursday."

            "Paige, you're a lifesaver."  Piper said.

            "Why do you say that?"

            "Aside from the obvious reasons, you're doing all of this for us.  It makes me so happy."  Piper admitted.

            "It's nothing."

            "Are we done here?  They are calling."  Leo said.

            "Yeah."  Paige said.

            "Hurry home."  Piper said, giving Leo a quick kiss.

            "Is it real yet?"  Paige asked.

            "What?"

            "This.  You are getting a daughter."

            "No.  Every morning when she jumps on our bed, waking us up, it doesn't feel real.  It feels like a dream.  My life feels perfect."  Piper admitted.

            "That is good."

            "It feels great."

            "I can only imagine."  

            "Paige, I have full faith that one day, you'll feel the same."

            "Thanks."

            "Ok, I got to go.  I have to talk to Cole.  He said that he would help us out during this hearing.   Just have to make sure that he can get off then."  Piper waved as she walked out the door.   Piper drove to Cole's office.  She was impressed.  She hadn't been there yet, and was surprised at the sheer size of it.  "Now I'm impressed."  Piper said, as she was escorted into Cole's office.

            "You weren't  before?"  Cole asked.

            "Naw.  Those fancy things you kept buying, well, I figured you could have coned.  This, this you can't con."  Piper admitted.

            "Thanks, I guess.  What do you want?"  Cole asked.

            "You promised you'd help us with the hearing." Piper reminded.

            "Right.  When is it?"

            "Thursday the 10 at 10:30."  Piper said.

            Cole turned on his computer to see if he could make it.  "Ok.  I just have to be at a meeting at 1:00.  I'm sure that won't be a problem."  Cole said.

            "Ok.  Good."

            "Hey Baby."  Phoebe said, popping into the office.

            "Phoebe, I'm kinda in the middle of a meeting." Cole said.

            "With my sister.  I'm sure you don't mind.  Right Piper?"

            "No, I was just on my way out."  Piper said, standing up.

            "What were you talking about?"  Phoebe asked.

            "Just the hearing."  Piper said.  She turned to leave.  Before she shut the door, she told Cole once more, "I'm impressed."

            Piper smiled to herself, as she walked to the car.  Things were going great.  In two weeks everything would be perfect.  Rachel will be theirs.  Matchbox was coming.  There were going to be fewer demons.  Life, well, couldn't get better.  Piper busied herself for the next two weeks.  She was on extra good behavior.  There couldn't be any reason for them to turn down the adoption.  Finally, the day came.  Thursday, December 10.  Piper decided not to send Rachel to school at all that day.  Rachel would be too excited to do anything.  Paige, Piper, Leo, Rachel, Cole and Phoebe all drove over.  They arrived thirty minutes early.  As they waited for their turn on the bench out side the court room, people passed, and stared at the odd bunch.  There was only room for three people to comfortably sit on the bench, and the nearest bench was down the long hall, several rooms down.  Piper, Leo, and Cole were the three privileged enough to sit on the bench.  Rachel propped her self on Leo's lap.  And Phoebe sat on the arm, her arm resting on Cole's shoulder for balance.  Paige decided not to bother to fit on the bench, and sat against the wall on the floor.  They waited.  Finally, they were allowed in.  Phoebe, Paige, and Rachel were told to sit behind everyone else.  Nervously, Piper and Leo took their seats.  Cole sat next to them.  They sat very stiff as the judge went through the formalities.

            "Are you guys prepared to take in this child?"  The judge asked.

            "We are."  Piper and Leo said.  Piper's hand wandered to where Leo's was, and she held it tight.

            "Will you bring the child forward?"  The judge asked.

            Shyly, Rachel stood up.  Cole got up from his seat, and brought her before the judge.  Rachel stood perfectly still.  Not shaking, but very weak.  Cole stood behind her, making sure she didn't fall over.  "Do you want to live with Piper and Leo Wyatt?"  He asked.  Rachel was speechless, but nodded.  "I'm going to need you to say it, not just nod, ok?"  He told her.

            "Yes."  Rachel whispered.

            "Ok.  I just need you guys to sign this, and you're done.  I'll want to see you in six months to make sure everything is ok."  The judge smiled.  He knew that they didn't need the check up, but it was mandatory.  Jumping up from their seats, Piper and Leo signed the papers.  The judge pulled out a stuffed bear and gave it to Rachel.  "Here you go sweetie.  I hope you guys will be happy." He said.  Laughing and smiling, the happy six left the room.

            Piper made a feast that night.  She wanted to make a family diner, rather than celebrating by going out.  When it came time for Rachel to go to bed, she had one request.  "Mommy, will you finish the Harry Potter book tonight?" She asked.  Piper smiled.  She remembered when they had started reading the series.  Now, they were on the fourth book and the last chapter too.  It sounded perfect.  The fifth book was lined up ready to start.  Piper picked up Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire. 

            "Chapter Thirty- Seven.  The Beginning." Piper read.  

Fin.

What did you think?  Did you like the ending?  Ohhh I did.  One of my favorites.  Any way, want to see all these characters in a second story?  Just drop your opinion in your review, and I will.  


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